Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE HIDDEN LETTER AT BLUEBELL FARM (Wildflower Secrets Book #3) by Rebecca Alexander on this Bookouture Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
Book Description
Arriving at Bluebell Farm in the English countryside, historian Tasha has never felt more alone. Her twins have left for university, her marriage is over, and she’s said goodbye to the place she thought would always be her home. Exploring the tumbledown farm and striking up a friendship with elderly Maud, whose prickly exterior masks a warm heart, offers the distraction Tasha desperately needs.
Together with Ryan, a silver-haired, motorbike-riding archaeologist, Tasha digs into the farm’s history. Soon she finds faded photographs and a sealed, yellowing letter that calls to her. But Maud’s eyes fill with tears as she insists the long-lost letter must never be opened. Could it be from Maud’s father, who went missing after the Second World War?
Intrigued by the stories hidden behind Maud’s sharp blue eyes, Tasha and Ryan unearth a heart-wrenching secret. Maud’s father’s disappearance is not the only mystery hidden on this farm. If Maud reads the letter after all these years, will it reveal all?
And with Maud’s encouragement,can Tasha have a second chance at love with kind-hearted Ryan? Or will the heartache in their own pasts keep them apart?
THE HIDDEN LETTER AT BLUEBELL FARM (Wildflower Secrets Book #3) by Rebecca Alexander is an emotionally gripping, heartbreaking, and wonderful dual timeline historical fiction/women’s fiction addition to the Wildflower Secrets series. This book, like the others in the series, are easily read as standalones with the location of Dartmoor, England being the main linkage between all the books with minimal story content crossover.
Bluebell Farm in the farming community of Dartmoor is the setting of both timelines. The main character of both timelines is Maud. She is a young girl during WWII as she lives and works on her family’s farm in the historical timeline starting in the 1940s. She is a 95-year-old woman in the present-day timeline when The National Trust buys her farmhouse, barn, and land for historical preservation.
Tasha is a divorced mother of grown twins who is searching for a change. She decides to take the assignment of staying on Bluebell Farm to catalogue and restore historical finds. At first, Tasha finds Maud brusk and secretive, but as she works to understand and help Maud, the two become closer and Tasha feels responsible for Maud. But Maud’s secrets from her early years on the farm begin to surface. The boy and then man she could never have and all she had to endure over the years comes to light.
Keep the tissues close for this one. Maud is a character I will remember for a long time to come. Her strength and perseverance were amazing, and she is more than just an assignment to Tasha. All the stories in this series are emotional but having had a grandma who lived to be 102, this one got to me personally. A well written story with a memorable main protagonist and blend of two plotlines that kept me turning the pages to the very end.
I highly recommend this inspiring historical fiction/women’s fiction dual timeline story!
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About the Author
Rebecca Alexander was born in Malta and grew up on the south coast of England, becoming a psychologist. She escaped parenting six children to study writing in 2011, and the Secrets series of novels was published in 2013. A Baby’s Bones and sequel followed. Rebecca lives in a haunted 300-year-old cottage in Devon where she grows fruit, paints, and bakes. She reads and writes all sorts of genres, from women’s fiction to fantasy to crime. She is married with four chickens, two grandchildren and a cat.
On a brisk February morning while walking to the diner where she works, 24 year-old Ruth Foster is stopped by the local sheriff. He insists she accompany him to a health clinic, threatening to arrest her if she doesn’t undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease.
Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day’s end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some are there because they were reported for promiscuity by neighbors, husbands, strangers. Some were accused of prostitution. Others were just pretty and unmarried. Or poor and “suspicious.” One was eating dinner alone in a restaurant. Another spoke to a soldier.
Josephine’s sin was running a business as a single woman. Maude’s was trying to drown her sorrows. Frances had lost her mind. Opal married a man with a mean streak. Some, like 15-year-old Stella, are brought in because they’re victims of assault. She’s too naive and broken to understand how unjust this imprisonment is.
Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she’s transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the women’s medical treatment and “training” until they’re deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide by Mrs. Baker’s rule book or face the consequences—solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse.
But some refuse to be cowed. Some find ways to fight back – at any cost…
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Elise’s Thoughts
Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart is a compelling and fascinating read. This historical fiction sheds light on a lesser-known subject of how women were wrongly imprisoned. There are vivid scenes and compelling characters who fought their injustice with determination.
The story was told from multiple points of view: two of the girls, Ruth Foster and Stella Temple, as well as the Superintendent Dorothy Baker. This allows readers to get an understanding of the situation of the girls.
Women were picked up, sent to the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women, and subjected to involuntary medical treatment for venereal disease. One of those women was twenty-four-year-old Ruth Foster who was on her way to work and seized by the sheriff for looking suspicious. She was forced to remain in the custody of a reform colony where she underwent horrendous isolation and shots that made her sick. She witnessed group punishment that she refused to take part in and was then put in solitary confinement for disobedience.
Another girl, fifteen-year-old Stella Temple found herself at the colony after her parents realized she was pregnant. While there she was involuntarily sterilized. Even with all that she still sees the colony as a refuge and something better than she had while living with her parents since she has a bed, clothing, and food.
Dorothy Baker is the superintendent of the colony. Although she thinks she is doing the right thing in helping the girls, readers see how she never tolerates anyone who protests. If the girls break the rules, they face sadistic and cruel punishment. If they try to run away, they are sent to the meditation room where they are given only scraps of food, a bucket to dispose of their humanly waste, and are isolated.
This book is riveting and will keep readers turning the pages. People will take the journey with the characters, cheering for Ruth as she exhibits courageous behavior and weeping for Stella as she is forced to confront what happened to herself. They will despise Mrs. Baker for her corporal punishment techniques. The twists and turns as well as the surprise ending add to the intensity of the story where readers will be on the edge of their seats.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Donna Everhart: I write southern historical fiction. This is about some sterilization but more importantly the mass incarceration of women. I have not thought of my books as historical fiction, but they do fall into that category. At first, I thought about writing on reform schools for girls in the state of North Carolina. When I landed on farm colonies and the mass incarceration of women the story unfolded. Even though the story is fictional most of what took place happened.
EC: Were Samarcand and the Colony true?
DE: They were each an hour from me in opposite directions. I read this book, Bad Girls at Samarcand: Sexuality and Sterilization in A Southern Juvenile Reformatory by Karin L. Zipf, which was a resource for me. The goal was to combat the spread of venereal disease. Any woman could by arrested within a five-mile radius of a military base. If the woman was found infected, they could be sentenced to a farm colony to be cured. After learning about the Chamberlain-Kahn Act, the American Plan, I discovered that some girls sent to these reform schools operated as very young prostitutes. Another resource was a non-fiction book by Scott W. Stern, The Trials of Nina McCall: Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Plan to Imprison Promiscuous Women.
EC: What was true?
DE: The meditation room where Ruth was placed was true: dingy, not enough food, had to pee in a bucket. They were able to run the colony through slave labor. I have four books that were actual biennial reports of that time that went to the North Carolina Governor. There was a board of directors, a superintendent, on site psychologists, a medical director, as in my book. The fires in the farm colonies dormitories are true.
EC: Was Ruth Foster based on Nina McCall?
DE: Yes, loosely based. Nina was walking to the post office and picked up, while in my book Ruth was walking to work and picked up. ‘Walking while beautiful’ was the thinking of the time to pick up a woman. Ruth Foster was beautiful. She was put in the Colony because she supposedly had a positive test for VD. But like Covid, there were a lot of false positives. She represented those women who had to have treatment for no reason and this treatment was debilitating. She also represented how the women were deprogrammed, structuring the way they thought and lived. They wanted to break Ruth down and then build her up in the name of reform. Nina McCall, as with Ruth, were shamed into subjecting themselves to get the physical exam and found to have VD and sent off. Ruth represents the innocent women who were surveilled, picked up, forced to undergo an evasive exam, and put into a facility, locked up, without due process.
EC: How would you describe Ruth?
DE: Ruth had a high IQ, independent, confident, stubborn, and a non-conformist. They tried to break her and make her docile. She was smart and savvy.
EC: How would you describe Stella?
DE: Stella had a very high IQ, with a photogenic mind. She was obedient, innocent, invincible-like, goes along to get along, and a tattletale. Stella had an abusive father and became submissive. She wanted to fit in but became elusive and stayed to herself. She contrasts with Ruth because Stella felt at the Colony she was saved. I hope readers ask given her circumstances was Stella better off at the Colony, was it a haven for her?
EC: What about Mrs. Baker?
DE: She was a strict disciplinarian, abrupt, calculating, manipulating, rigid, aloof, and abusive. She believed in what she was doing, helping these women. She wanted to teach them to learn to read and write, cook, can, and clean. Baker thought she was a savior to these women. I consider her a fascinating character. I think she is a product of her time. All the real superintendents of the farm colonies were like Baker. They wanted to break the girls’ spirits.
EC: You had this quote in the author’s notes: “This is the story of women held against their will without due process. But it is also the story of women who believed what they were doing was for the greater good.” Did you want readers to understand Mrs. Baker?
DE: Yes, I did. Some do and some don’t. Some thought she had no redeeming qualities and some readers sympathized with her. I wanted readers to be conflicted about her. I thought Baker had some redeeming qualities.
EC: What about Baker’s assistant Mrs. Maynard?
DE: She was a sadist, mean, and hateful. I fashioned her after the nun in the ‘Yellowstone series.’ There was a nun who was perverse. Mrs. Maynard got off in whipping these girls.
EC: What about the letters the girls like Ruth were forced to write?
DE: In Mrs. Baker’s mind she wanted to coerce the board into giving more money to expand the colony. The letters showed what a successful program she was running. She wants to control Ruth, but Ruth was not going to lie, to write something to help Baker. This infuriated her. This is where Ruth’s strength, non-conformity, and independence come in. Baker saw Ruth as a troublemaker and was intimidated by Ruth who saw things were not right. Ruth and Baker butt heads. Ruth could not be persuaded to fold as a lawn chair.
EC: What do you want readers to get out of this book?
DE: Good entertainment. But also, an awareness that this really happened. I hope it creates discussions. This is such an important story.
EC: Next book?
DE: I am working on another book, no title yet. The plot has an elderly woman who gets displaced with eminent domain. This will probably come out in January 2028.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review of FOR THE HONOR OF THE AGENCY (The Honor Trilogy Book #1) by Andrew J. Harvey on this Black Phoenix Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Newly appointed to the Cross-Temporal Empire’s Department of Agriculture and Food, Margaret Peric quickly discovers her role is far more dangerous than she ever imagined. When an ex-employee is nearly killed trying to expose a genetically engineered crop blight, Margaret and her bodyguard, Jade Carvello, uncover a trail of eco-terrorism, corruption—and something far more sinister.
While Margaret faces bureaucratic sabotage and growing political unrest, Jade’s own investigation leads her into the orbit of Carlos Babineaux—a charming anarchist with a secret agenda and a dangerously kissable French accent. Their relationship threatens both Jade’s mission and her loyalty to the powerful Rucker’s Agency.
As conspiracies unravel across alternate Earths, and a child’s life hangs in the balance, Margaret must defy her own government to protect those she loves, and somehow must track down her missing sister for her mother. Meanwhile, Jade and Carlos risk everything on a river journey through hostile territory, where betrayal could come from either side.
FOR THE HONOR OF THE AGENCY (The Honor Trilogy Book #1) by Andrew J. Harvey is an exciting first book in a new sci-fi trilogy that contains plenty of twists, thrills, romance, and political intrigue all set in a multiverse where every decision can change the fate of humanity. While I do not usually pick up a sci-fi book, this one has so many elements of other genres, that it kept me thoroughly engaged and turning the pages.
On an alternate Earth, this story takes place primarily on the Mainline and is controlled by the Cross-Temporal Empire. Former soldier and sister in-law to the First Leader, Margaret Peric, has been appointed the head of the Department of Agriculture and Food. She is approached by Markus Ackov, who has been fired and has an attempt made on his life when he discovers a conspiracy to kill the world’s crops with a biologically engineered crop blight.
Jade Carvello is Margaret’s bodyguard and works for the private security firm, The Rucker’s. Even though Margaret’s protection is a job, they become close and Margaret considers her a friend and the only one she can trust to investigate the threat of the Anarchists and possible enemies within her own department. Jade infiltrates the anarchists and cannot resist the chemistry that sparks between herself and Carlos Babineaux, a French-Canadian anarchist that puts her investigation and personal integrity at risk.
These two plotlines weave together is an exciting, suspenseful, and fast paced sci-fi multiverse story that pulled me right into the intrigue, romance, and worldbuilding. The twists throughout kept me guessing and turning the pages. I will admit difficulty and frustration with all the multitude of locations and multiverses layer names which occasionally pushed me out of the thrilling character focused plotlines themselves, but the characters are very well developed and with them as a focus, I could not put this book down.
Overall, I highly recommend this wonderful start to this trilogy, and I am looking forward to the next book in the Honor Trilogy.
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About the Author
Andrew spent his high-school years in the school’s library lost in the worlds of Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov. Reading in turn led to writing, with the first draft of The Portal Adventures originally completed to read to his two sons at night. Now his children have left home he lives in Perth with his wife, one dog, and sixty four gold fish.
Andrew is presently the Principal of Hague Publishing, established in 2011 as an independent publisher of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Registered in Western Australia, it publishes original work by Australian and New Zealand authors.
Andrew’s first published short story (A Messenger to the Dragon) appeared in Aurealis – Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1992. His most recent was the award winning 1827: Napoleon in Australia, which appeared in Sea Lion Press’ anthology Alternate Australias released in 2020.
His first novel, Nightfall (book one in the Clemhorn Trilogy) is an adult, alternate history set against the backdrop of the Cross-Temporal Empire and its fifty-four separate lines. Nightfall was released by Zmok Books in 2019. The series is distributed by Simon and Schuster.
Trouble on Teral and Crisis at Calista Station, the first two books in his new middle-grade, Science Fiction adventure series, The Portal Adventures, were released by Canada’s Peasantry Press in 2020. The open ended series is a combination of Caroline Lawrence’s Roman Mysteries and Andre Norton’s juvenile speculative fiction.
A passionate reader of Alternate History Andrew is working on completing a number of additional series of trilogies based on the Cross-Temporal Empire.
When Chad Young moves home, it’s not a decision he makes lightly. A former military man, he doesn’t make any decision lightly. But his father’s passing has left the family—and their business—reeling. Now more than ever, they need to stick together.
Britt Starkweather moved to Maine with her boyfriend, never imagining he’d abandon her there. With no money and nowhere to go, she accepts the Youngs’ offer of a job and room on their property. What more does she have to lose?
Although they just met, Chad makes Britt feel safe in a way no one has before. And she makes him feel things he’d given up on finding. But even as they grow closer, Britt realizes that something is amiss at Lobster Cove…and Chad will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.
THE SOLDIER (Alpha Cove Book #1) by Susan Stoker is a satisfying classic romance with suspense elements set in small-town Maine. Each book features an ex-military brother who have all returned to their hometown to assist their mother in the family businesses after the death of their father.
Evelyn Young is excited about the return of all her sons and the first to come home is the second oldest of the four, Chad who was an Army sniper, and is the most invested in taking over all his father’s work in the running of Lobster Cove. As Chad makes a run for lumber in town, he witnesses the humiliation of a woman who appears to be hanging on by a thread.
Britt Starkweather moved to Maine with her boyfriend who abandoned her after not immediately finding a job and home. With barely any money she is living in her car until Chad Young comes along and offers her a job and a place to live on the family property. She is worried about the offer at first, but Chad’s mother pulls her under her wing and Chad watches Britt put in more than her fair share of work while also helping his mother.
Britt feels safe with Chad and Chad is beginning to believe he has found something with Britt he has never felt before. As Britt takes on more responsibilities, she discovers discrepancies in invoices at the auto shop. When she tells Chad, he realizes something is very wrong at Lobster Cove and he will do anything to protect both his mother and Britt with the help of his brothers.
I was excited to read this first book in this new series. I enjoyed the sexy romance which is steamy but not gratuitous, meeting each of the Young brothers and their mother, and the Maine setting. This is an easy to read, quick to fall in love, sexy romance with an element of suspense that kept me turning the pages. I am looking forward to following Britt and Chad in the future books, as well as Evelyn, Chad’s mother, who turned out to be a feisty character. Next brother, please.
I recommend this sexy romance and look forward to the rest in this Alpha Cove series.
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About the Author
New York Times, USA Today, #1 Amazon Bestseller, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has spent the last twenty-three years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee and is currently living in the wilds of Maine. She’s married to a retired Army man (and current firefighter/EMT) who now gets to follow her around the country.
She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.
Chasing Justice, Hunting the Truth, and Killer Secretsare the first books by Kathleen Donnelly of the National Forest K-9 Series. She is an author that should be put on everybody’s radar. Having been a handler for a private narcotics K-9 detection company, she is able to use her experiences to craft realistic stories in these novels.
Each of the three books explains more of former Marine Maya Thompson’s and Deputy Sheriff Josh Colte’s pasts, shedding light on the emotional and physical scars of the hero and heroine. They delve into topics involving law enforcement, military reentry after serving overseas, and PTSD within a suspenseful storyline.
After losing her military K-9, former marine Maya Thompson swears she’ll never work with dogs again. But when she returns home to Colorado and accepts a job with US Forest Service law enforcement, fate brings K-9 Juniper into her life just as another tragedy unfolds. The mountain setting in all the plots adds to the suspense. The mystery/action stories are riveting, plus there are added bonuses that have good descriptions and details of how K9s train and work.
Maya and Josh are both recovering addicts who self-medicated their PTSD. She is a K-9 handler with the Forestry Service, and he is with the Sheriff’s office. Throughout the books their mutual attraction grows into a relationship of love.
The plot of book 1, Chasing Justice, involves a deepening drug war and the disappearance of her grandfather, Sheriff Wayne. Book 2, Hunting the Truth, has Maya investigating her past when her mother and grandmother were killed. Killer Secrets, book 3, has an avalanche exposing a serial killer’s dumping grounds in Antler Valley, Colorado. Now Forest Service officer Maya Thompson and her K-9, Juniper, must catch the murderer before they become the next targets.
Donnelly has also written another series involving canines. The first book, Colorado K-9 Rescue has FBI victim specialist, Mckenna Parker, and her crisis canine, Mocha, assigned to a case with FBI agent Evan Knox. McKenna and Mocha help people who have been through major trauma. In this book it is someone rescued from being kidnapped. Now Evan, McKenna, and Mocha must find other local girls who disappeared.
The link to Donnelly’s newsletter is https://kathleendonnelly.com/contact/#newsletter, and if someone signs up, they will receive a non-fiction compilation of short stories about her time as a K-9 handler, titled Working Tails.
Donnelly writes gripping stories that are very realistic. They take readers on a thrilling ride of action-packed non-stop adventure that have twists and turns. The characters will touch people’s hearts as they try to make a life for themselves and lean on each other as well as their furry companions.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the Forest Service K-9 series?
Kathleen Donnelly: I had the setting in Colorado because I grew up there and loved the mountains. My dad was a researcher in the forest service. It is so beautiful, but the mountains can be very dangerous. It is the perfect Jekyll and Hyde setting. I am a retired canine handler, where I did it for nineteen years.
EC: Were you a canine handler for law enforcement?
KD: No. I worked for a private company and owned one, Sherlock Holmes Detection Canine. We went to schools, private business, and some rehabs. Our dogs were trained to find drugs, alcohol, and gun powder. We did go through the same training and certification as law enforcement officers. I try to keep it realistic as far as police procedure and all the drugs in the stories are fact based.
EC: Did you speak with any law enforcement or military people?
KD: One of our handlers was a retired handler officer who reads my books and gives me feedback. I have another friend, a retired chief of police. I have a lot of sources I can reach out to in law enforcement. I was also able to connect with a forest service law enforcement canine handler. He is very helpful because some of my friends would say we would do it this way in city PD, but that is not how forest service will do it.
EC: What about Maya’s PTSD?
KD: I also had a fellow writing friend, Tara Darlene Smith, who was an army veteran who suffered from PTSD. I believe she drove convoys in Iraq. She told me what it was like. She has published a book, Sunflowers in Iraq about what she went through. She helped develop Maya’s battle with PTSD. She told me you do not get over PTSD, just learn how to manage it.
EC: Was the scene where Maya overruled her dog realistic?
KD: The storyline for the first book in the series, Chasing Justicewas based on my own experience. I thought as a handler I wanted to add this realistic aspect, where sometimes things do not go as planned. I had Maya, the handler, not wanting to do the work anymore because of an experience she had, but realizes she is just meant to do it.
EC: Did you base Juniper’s personality on real life dogs?
KD: My dog, Boomer, although not a Malinois, but a black lab, is high energy and does check our house for drugs when we come home. I do have to watch him and keep him away from the tree ornaments. The K-9s are very driven and high energy even when they retire.
EC: How do multi-purpose dogs alert and know what to do?
KD: Dual purposes dogs have more than one job. They have different types of collars or harnesses to show them what job they were going to do. Anytime a dog latches on to a scent for finding evidence, a body, or tracking, their body language changes. Their body language is completely different: the tail can go up, body tenses, they can lie down, or their breathing changes. One of the handlers I spoke with told me, which I added in the story, his dog did a sit for narcotics and laid down to indicate evidence. The dog work I keep as accurate as possible and try to work the storyline around that accuracy even when I was working and my dog was telling me that there was something there, but I missed it.
EC: How would you describe Maya over the course of the three books?
KD: She was a Marine who fought in Afghanistan. She is broken, closed off, loves dogs, she feels grief and anger which shows in her PTSD, and feels guilty over losing her working dog, Zinger, in Afghanistan, blaming herself. She tries to shut off her emotions, and at other times spirals out of control. She can be stubborn, jumps to conclusions, resilient, and a fighter. Maya also wants to be more like her grandfather Wayne, which is why she joined the military and law enforcement, always wanting justice. Because she knows loss, she works hard to help someone find closure.
EC: Is she a recovering alcoholic?
KD: Yes, she now realizes as evidenced in the book quote, she “drinks to quit feeling.” As a character she shows why she got PTSD, dealing with PTSD, and trying to recover from PTSD. I wanted to portray this accurately. A lot of veterans come home, and they do not have a “normal” anymore. She tries to shut down the memories, flashbacks, and nightmares through alcohol. She had a friend, grandfather, and cabin to pull her out of it.
EC: How would you describe Juniper?
KD: She helped Maya with her anxiety, to feel calmness, and gave her purpose. She made her realize her past fear and to trust herself with another dog. Juniper is Maya’s ears, eyes, and smells. She needs structure, is high energy, and high drive. She can be intimidating and loves to destroy objects. She is a typical Malinois, wound tighter than any working dog. When I would look for dogs at rescues, I wanted them to be friendly but are so high energy with extra drive that they could not be just a pet, but a great working dog. They need to be entertained even when retired. The Malinois like Juniper are similar, but only on steroids. One of the best portrayals of a Malinois was the movie “Dog” with Channing Tatum. They did not exaggerate.
EC: The role of Grandfather Wayne?
KD: Protective, stubborn, gruff, a fighter, strong, and indestructible. He did not want her to follow in his footsteps. He raised Maya with her grandmother. He is very proud of her, but it is hard for him to tell her. It was easier for Maya to speak with her grandmother because she understood her so well. Losing her grandmother adds to the grief and loss for Maya. Throughout the books Maya and Wayne try to find if she was murdered.
EC: How would you describe Josh?
KD: A good listener, charming, can be arrogant, kind, and not judgmental. His backstory has affected him and caused PTSD. He wants to help people.
EC: How about the relationship?
KD: He really understood Maya on a level no one has. They are attracted to each other but also found each other annoying. They were good friends first. She thinks she is not good enough for him and does not think she is in a spot to have a relationship. The relationship seems to progress with each book.
EC: How would you describe one of the supposed bad guy characters, Eric Torres?
KD: Cunning, ruthless, smart, charismatic, manipulative, a bad cop who took bribes, and he is not who he appears to be at first sight.
EC: How would you describe the murderer of the third book of the series, Killer Secrets?
KD: Manipulative, a hunter, uses drugs to get his victim incapacitated, feels powerful, obsessed with Maya. He is also methodical, controlling, meticulous, knows investigative techniques and likes to play games with the victims. I developed him off some of the FBI’s research on serial killers and then used my own characteristics.
EC: What about the other series, Colorado Canine Rescue?
KD: It is different than the Forest Service K-9 Series. It is much more of a romance series. Each character has their own story.
EC: How would you describe the female lead, McKenna?
KD: Vulnerable, strong, determined, resilient, and anxious. She is a survivor and wants to help others who had traumatic experiences. She faced her trauma more than Maya had faced hers. There is a statistic where those in law enforcement or the military like Maya have faced over 800 traumatic events where someone like McKenna had that one trauma.
EC: What about the male lead, Evan?
KD: Sometimes rude. Untrusting. A workaholic, driven, and outgoing.
EC: What about the relationship?
KD: At first McKenna thinks of him as a jerk. He likes to tease. Both are sensitive. He makes her feel safe.
EC: How would you describe the dog, Mocha?
KD: He is a canine victim specialist dog. I heard the FBI started this crisis program. They comfort victims. The dogs are deployed to horrific events. Mocha brings joy, provides comfort, and helped McKenna with her trauma.
EC: What about your non-fiction book, Working Tails?
KD: In book 4 of the Forest Service novels, Buried Lies, Josh’s past comes back to haunt him and he is framed for murder. This ties up a lot of his past. It comes out January 2026. Book 5’s plot has one of the bad guys coming back for revenge against Maya. It is titled, Deadly Revenge and comes out July 2026.
The next story in the Colorado Canine Rescue series will feature Cassidy, McKenna’s sister. Probably comes out in 2027.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am featuring my Feature Post and Book Review for ASSASSINS by Mike Bond on this book amplifier tour.
Below you will find a book summary, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section and social media links. Enjoy!
Book Summary
In Assassins, Mike Bond introduces Jack, an intelligence operative whose career unfolds alongside some of the most volatile geopolitical shifts of the modern era. His work places him at the center of covert operations that blur the line between duty, loyalty, and accountability.
For CIA operative Jack, intelligence work is never confined to a single mission. Early assignments place him close to local communities, creating personal ties that complicate later operations driven by politics and fear. As global terrorism escalates, Jack is sent into increasingly volatile environments to gather intelligence and stop emerging threats.
Doctors, journalists, foreign officers, and militants move through the same conflicts, each shaped by decisions made far beyond their control. Jack’s relationship with Sophie Dassault, a doctor who once saved his life, becomes a rare human constant amid instability. As former training programs begin producing unintended consequences, Jack confronts a career defined by secrecy, responsibility, and outcomes no one fully controls.
ASSASSINS by Mike Bond is a thought-provoking spy thriller that took me through many memorable moments, not necessarily good, in recent history and reminded me of many political debates I have had with family and friends. There are several viewpoint characters throughout the novel, but the main protagonist is Jack, a CIA agent, and the story begins with his parachuting into the mountains of Afghanistan to assist the mujahideen in their fight again the Soviet Union.
This is a very suspense filled and political story that takes the readers over the years from the Soviet war in Afghanistan to the Bataclan theater attack in Paris. Jack is a complex character who is tortured by the people he loses on operations but is also strongly accepting of that cost to fight terrorists. The thriller plot moves at a fast pace and is very good at showing not only both sides of those in armed conflict, but also the political greed and interference that uses both sides as puppets.
I enjoyed this book, the intricate plot, and characters, but it is heavy on military and political issues, and it is not just a fast-paced thriller. It appeals to those of us who like those intricacies and may feel too heavy for others.
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Excerpt
An Evening in Paris
November 2015
IT WAS WARM for mid-November. They sat on the terrace of a little restaurant. Anyplace in France, she said, how wonderful the food, the delicious wine, the gentle harmony of others there for love, food, friendship, ideas, freedom, the joys of life.
They had been through the wars together, fallen in love amid the hail of bullets and thud of explosions in cities drenched with blood. Knowing, as the cliché put it, any moment could be their last.
It gave an intensity to love, that this person dearer to you than life itself could be extinguished at any instant. Someone you cherished so completely, composed of neurons, cells, muscles, bone, tissue and memories, could be blown apart, riddled with bullets, any second.
“I love you so much,” she said. “But I think I love you even more in Paris.”
“France does that to us all. What was it Hemingway said –”
“Paris is a moveable feast.”
“Yes, and we will happily feast, in whatever life brings us.”
“As you’ve said, to follow the path with heart?”
“Yes.” He caressed the back of her hand. “For us, the wars are over.”
“For us the wars will never be over. You know that.”
He looked out on the quiet street. “Let’s take time out. Then we decide.”
“Decide what?”
“Whether we keep fighting or run for cover.” He smiled at the thought. Not once in all these years had he ever run for cover. Nor had she.
“Your buddy Owen said that people like us, once we’re in, we can never get out.”
“Look where it got him. You want that?” Again he checked the street. It was automatic, this watchfulness. On the edge of consciousness.
He scanned the passing pedestrians – happy couples hand in hand, an old man with a wispy beard, a little girl walking a black poodle, an ancient limping Chinese woman, a kid on a skateboard.
But it worried him, this something; he wished he’d brought a sidearm, but Home Office didn’t want you carrying one here. And everything seemed so peaceful. He sipped his wine, the raw ancient roots of Provence…
A black Seat slowed as it came down the street. A grinning face full of hatred, an AK barrel aiming at them out its window, a blasting muzzle as he leaped across the table knocking her to the sidewalk and covered her with his body amid the hideous twanging hammer of bullets and smashing glass and screams and clatter of chairs and tables crashing and the howl of the Kalashnikov and awful whap of bullets into flesh as people tumbled crying.
It couldn’t be, this horror, he’d left it all behind.
***
About the Author
Mike Bond is the author of nearly a dozen bestselling novels and an ecologist, war and human rights journalist, award-winning poet, and international energy expert. His work spans more than thirty countries across seven continents, often drawn from firsthand experiences in remote, dangerous, and war-torn regions. His novels are praised worldwide for their intricate plots, vivid settings, and explosive pacing. His reporting has covered wars, revolutions, terrorism, and major environmental crises.
