A woman and her young son flee to a convent on a remote island off the Breton coast of France. Generations of seafarers have named the place Ile de la Brume, or Fog Island. In a chapel high on a cliff, a tragic death occurs, and a terrified child vanishes into the mist.
The child’s godmother, Maggie O’Shea, haunted by the violent deaths of her husband and best friend, has withdrawn from her life as a classical pianist. But then a recording of unforgettable music and a grainy photograph surface, connecting her missing godson to a long-lost first love.
The photograph will draw Maggie inexorably into a collision course with criminal forces, decades-old secrets, stolen art and musical artifacts, and deadly terrorists. Her search will take her to the Festival de Musique, Aix-en-Provence, France, where she discovers answers to her husband’s death, an unexpected love—and a musical masterpiece lost for centuries.
THE LOST CONCERTO (A Maggie O’Shea Mystery Book #1) by Helaine Mario is an exciting, fast moving, intricately plotted mystery/thriller that had me completely engrossed and guessing throughout. I am very glad this is a series, so I am able to follow these characters on future adventures.
Concert pianist Maggie O’Shea was devastated by the death of her best friend and the disappearance of her friend’s young son who is her godson. When her investigative journalist husband goes overseas to look into the murder and disappearance, he is killed in a boating accident. Now withdrawn, unable to play and find solace in her music, she hides away in her music shop.
When a CIA officer drops off an envelope with a recording of a piano concerto and a grainy picture, Maggie and the military officer sent to protect her are drawn into an international mystery and investigation into terrorism, politics, and a historic original music score. Will she find her find her missing godson before an international assassin kills them all?
This is one of those books that are impossible to put down. Maggie is depressed and has suffered so much loss in such a short time and yet she is determined to find her godson. The journey all over the beautifully described European sites made me feel like I was there with Maggie. The classical music content added a special interest for me throughout the story besides just being a fast-paced chase thriller. The mystery/thriller plot was intricately plotted with many red herrings and twists that continually surprised me even knowing that you just cannot always trust your belief in who is a good man and who is an evil man without knowing their pasts and reasons for what they believe in. The good and bad were all fully developed. The romance elements in this story were quite romantic with two broken people finding each other with no sex involved.
I highly recommend this well written, exciting mystery/thriller!
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About the Author
Best-selling author Helaine Mario grew up in NYC and is a graduate of Boston University. Now living in Arlington, VA, this mother of two, grandmother of five, and passionate advocate for women’s and children’s issues came to writing later in life. Her first novel, The Lost Concerto, won the Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal. Echoes on the Wind is her fifth novel and the fourth in her Maggie O’Shea Classical Music Suspense Series. Royalties from her books go to children’s music and reading programs. Helaine recently lost her husband, Ron, after 57 years together. Her new book echoes with loss, grief and, ultimately, the healing power of love.
A personal note to my readers,
There is a lovely quote that says, “Happiness is finding the first good book in a series, and knowing there are more to follow.”
If you want to learn my pianist Maggie O’Shea’s story from the beginning, then begin with THE LOST CONCERTO. DARK RHAPSODY and SHADOW MUSIC follow. ECHOES ON THE WIND, newly available summer 2024, is #4 in my award-winning Classical Music Suspense series. Each story comes from my heart.
My only stand alone is FIREBIRD, a novel of espionage, art, dance and enduring love.
In all of my books, the emotional heartbeat is a strong woman. It’s been said that my books are like music. They take you on a journey, they tell a story, they make you feel something. More than anything, I want my readers to fall into the story, to care about the characters. I want them to ask, What would I have done? While there are too many moments in life that we cannot change or control, I know that it’s how we deal with what happens to us that matters. This always will be a theme in my novels.
I like to say that ‘Music tells our stories.” I want to be a storyteller forever. Beyond grateful.
After surviving a deadly prison break, ex-Detroit cop Kurt Argento is ready for some quiet. Still working through his grief over the passing of his wife, Argento finds himself house-sitting for a friend with his loyal companion, Hudson, a Chow Chow-Shepard mix. It’s a simple life, but it’s one that Argento is content to live. Then Kristin Reed shows up, begging Argento to find her missing husband and son.
Argento starts to notice that Fenton, Arizona is more than meets the eye. First there’s the large, overly equipped public safety team complete with specialized tactics and sophisticated weaponry. Then there’s the unusual financial boosting of failing small businesses by the U.S. government. Finally, there’s a man with no name with unprecedented control over the town. Argento finds himself unraveling not just the truth behind the disappearance of a family, but a conspiracy that’s taken a whole town to cover up.
Fenton, Arizona is going to push him further than he’s ever had to go. And along the way, he may just lose a part of himself. Because justice isn’t as black and white as Argento would like to believe.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Hard Town by Adam Plantinga blends action, humor, and moral dilemmas for the main character, Kurt Argento. Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch will move over for Kurt Argento, someone with a combination of their qualities. Argento emerges as a character where his reputation precedes him, with a desire to help others in dire straits.
Argento is a former Detroit beat copy and SWAT team member who served for over twenty years. In these first two books of the series readers see him as a wounded man, both physically and mentally. He has a stubborn, uncompromising sense of justice and formidable street-fighting skills, and is now grieving over the loss of his beloved wife to cancer.
Hard Town begins with Argento housesitting with his loyal companion, Hudson, A Chow-Chow Shepherd mix, for an old SWAT buddy in Fenton Arizona. At a diner he is approached by a woman, Kristin Reed, with her toddler who asks his help to find her missing husband. But after she fails to arrive for their appointment Argento decides to investigate the disappearance of the Reed family. Unfortunately, he is met with hostility and suspicion. Argento starts to notice that Fenton, Arizona is more than meets the eye.
He is up against government forces and ex-military special operators who have quietly taken over this small Arizona town, for the purpose, as they see it, of keeping America safe. There’s the large, overly equipped public safety team complete with specialized tactics and sophisticated weaponry. Then there’s the unusual financial boosting of failing small businesses by the U.S. government. Finally, there’s a man known only as “Silver Haired Man” with unprecedented control over the town. Argento finds himself needing to unravel, not just the truth behind the disappearance of a family, but a conspiracy that’s covered up by many in the town. He must contend with gangland assassins, mercenaries, and a mysterious psychopath with a huge intellect who is working on a secret project for the government.
There is quick witted dialogue, realistic scenes, and a great action plot, with well-written, detailed, and complex characterizations.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Did you use your personal experience to write these stories?
Adam Plantinga: I am a police sergeant in San Francisco. I can use my police training and tactics for my main character, who is a former cop. His outlook on life is like mine. I spend a fair amount of time around felons, so I get a sense of how they speak and act. Many times, when they say and do something I use it in the books.
EC: How are you like your main character, Kurt Argento?
AP: He is hard driving who does not have a lot of patience for disorder. He is relentless. I like to think I have these qualities as well when going after wanted felons. He is a straight shooter just like me. And we both had/have wonderful wives.
EC: What other qualities does Argento have?
AP: In the first book, The Ascent, there are a lot of flashbacks about his wife who he lost to cancer. He is caring, inquisitive, can read people, a problem solver, stubborn, former SWAT, can connect the dots, and is a hunter and fisher. He is a handy guy.
EC: What is the difference between The Ascent and this book?
AP: The first book took place indoors in a violent maximum-security prison and this second book was outdoors, with many scenes in the desert. In The Ascent, Argento operates in black and white regarding moral choices whereas in the second book there are shades of grey that include him blinded by rage.
EC: Why did you kill a child and a dog?
AP: I speak to it in the acknowledgement of the book. In a writing conference the moderator said the only rule that matters is that it can be done if it powers the story, and it works. The killing of the dog is the fuel for Argento throughout the rest of the book. The role of Hudson is to spur Argento because the bad guys crossed the red line in the sand.
EC: How would you describe the “Silver-Haired Man?”
AP: He is not a sympathetic character. He is diabolical. He uses his power and intellect for pure evil with no redeeming qualities. He is cold-blooded with tendencies to being a psychopath: narcissistic, without empathy.
EC: Why pit off the former Special Forces military against a former cop?
AP: I do work with a lot of those who are former military and are now in law enforcement. The plot has these former Special Forces people pretending to be cops. While in the military they saw and had to do bad things in the service of their country. When they were offered a million plus dollars for this assignment, they figured it was their just due. But they lost their way in the process with only one appearing to have a conscience, Redfinger. He cannot square what he did with who he is. The others have committed atrocities without guilt.
EC: Why the desert setting?
AP: I was able to put in how someone lost will get headaches, dehydration, pain, and thirst with the extreme heat. I did some research by speaking with a desert survivalist and a burn expert to
make it realistic. I also read a book, Death Watch, as a child that is a desert survival tale. There are passages from that book that are in my memory, and I wanted to recreate that setting. My wife and I love the desert setting.
EC: Next book?
AP: There are two more books in the series. The plot has Argento finding himself in a small South Dakota town. He decides to help a teenager who is in a lot of trouble. The working title is Run Through Walls, probably out in 2026.
THANK YOU!!
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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.
Victor is dead. But out of the chaos, a new dark power rises …
Only weeks ago, former Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson, head of Joshua Bravo team at the Shepherds, helped to defeat Victor, the leader of the devil’s Dark Ones. Now, his boss, Ben Morvant, has tasked him with an even harder mission: Take a vacation.
But before Jed has even managed to hit the beach in the Dominican Republic, he comes face-to-face with a new evil: Orphans are being abducted right off the streets of Santo Domingo. Are these disappearances just an unfortunate crime in an unfamiliar country, or do they hint at something bigger—a new threat emerging out of the power vacuum Victor left behind?
When Jed needs help after a violent encounter, he finds himself with an unexpected new ally: CIA liaison Gayle James. Together, the two of them must follow the trail of the missing orphans before it runs cold. Soon they find themselves immersed in a dangerous world of murder, betrayal, and voodoo. Jed will need Gayle, the Watchers Sarah Beth and Corbin, his old friend Ben Morvant, and the entire team of Shepherds at his side to expose the new threat—and to prevent a new dark power from rising …
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Elise’s Thoughts
Dark Rising is the fourth book by Brian Andrews and Jeff Wilson in the Shepherds Series. Brian, a former submarine officer and Jeff, a former combat surgeon, use their experiences to write riveting novels, this one no different. Readers are never disappointed when they pick up one of their series, whether “Sons of Valor,” “Tier One”, “Four Minutes”, and the “Shepherds Series” along with the Tom Clancy series. What sets this series apart from the others is the spiritual component that has some supernatural components, supported by scripture.
The first book in the series, Dark Intercept, has Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson retiring. As he tries to figure out his next step he receives a frantic call from his estranged childhood best friend David Yarnell, now married to Jed’s high school sweetheart Rachel, that their daughter, Sarah Beth, has been kidnapped. Since the police have no suspects and no leads Jed reluctantly agrees to help. Dark memories and strange abilities he thought he’d put behind him resurface that include the ability to hear other people’s thoughts, and internal voices. Jed is helped by the Shepherds, a military organization of religious soldiers tasked with protecting the world from evil spiritual threats, and the Watchers, teenagers who provide intelligence and reconnaissance to the Shepherds.
Dark Angel, the next book, pits Jed, the Shepherds, and the Watchers, against Nicholas Woland, who betrayed the Shepherds and joined their enemies, the Dark Ones. He is tasked by the leader of the Dark Ones, Victor, to execute a sinister plot causing hundreds of deaths and inciting worldwide religious warfare.
Dark Fall, the third book, has Jed as the Shepherds team leader using his skills, his team, CIA liaison Gayle James, and the Watchers to track an energy-based weapon that Victor wants to control.
Dark Rising has Jed on a vacation. But his restfulness comes to an end after realizing that children are being abducted in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. He is immersed in a dangerous world of murder, betrayal, and Voudou with Zombies. Jed will need Gayle, the Watchers Sarah Beth and Corbin, the leader of the Shepherds, Ben Morvant, as well as the entire team of Shepherds at his side to expose the new threat.
This series has an interesting take on good versus evil. It has the elements that Andrews & Wilson have become known for: covert operations, intrigue, fast-paced action sequences, and nefarious plots with a spiritual component.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Since you both are writing four series, “Sons of Valor,” “Tier One”, “Four Minutes”, and the “Shepherds Series” which one came first?
Brian Andrews/Jeff Wilson: “Tier One” is the first series that began in 2016 with eight books. Usually, the first three books relate to an arc, a three-book trilogy.
EC: What is the difference between each series?
BA/JW: They have different universes. The “Shepherds Series” has the speculative element as faith based but is grounded in the present with normal human life that includes spirituality and religious elements. The “Four Minutes” series is a speculative near future thriller that has a technological breakthrough that affects people, the military, and the intelligence communities. The “Tier One,” “Sons of Valor,” and the Tom Clancy Series are military thrillers set in the present with no speculative element at all with real-life mirroring current geo-politics.
EC: The following questions will be based solely on the “Shepherds Series.” How did you get the idea for it?
BA/JW: We wanted to write something rooted in what could be feasible based on biblical interpretations. Our stories imagine that evil is actively sowing chaos, misery, and deception to bring about ruin to mankind. Evil does not fight fair and the forces of good must combat them.
EC: How would you describe the bad guys, the Dark Ones?
BA/JW: They are every day human beings that turned to evil and are the host for a demon. The demon inside them gives them superhuman strength, the glowing eyes, and the transforming of their body. Imagine injecting someone with adrenaline or drugs that allows the person to push themselves to a limit beyond what a normal person’s biology could do. They have no fear of death. After the Demons process them, the body develops certain “powers” that gives them superhuman strength and power where they feel no pain. They represent hate and evil.
EC: Can you explain this quote from the Shepherds books, “The nature of good and evil, and things we feel, deep in our bones, but can’t see with our rational eyes. The raw questions about the existence of God?” I thought immediately of October 7th and the Holocaust.
BA/JW: Anyone who has been in combat or has seen horrific things can’t help but ask that question. This is an important part of the Shepherds Series. We assume readers go on this journey. In our own lives and military service, we’ve had to deal with burning questions about the nature of God, His role in the world and our lives, good and evil, and supernatural, spiritual
warfare the Bible tells us rages around us every day. There are so many possibilities where some might walk away from God, or maybe some will come to the same conclusions Jeff, myself, and our character Jed believe that God must give people free will. Part of the journey is where does organize religion factor into the equation for individuals. God in the story provides guidance, inspiration, and a set of moral principles for the Shepherds.
EC: In this story there are the Shepherds, Watchers, and Keepers. What is the difference?
BA/JW: The Watchers are a spiritual, intelligence, reconnaissance group. They replaced the satellites, listening devices, and professional spies. They are young people that are gifted with second sight that will age out. They can get into someone’s mind, can communicate with each other silently over a distance, and they are the ears and the eyes of the Shepherds. They locate a target, and certain watchers have an extra ability to project their consciousness to a physical location, an out of body experience.
The Shepherds are not divine and can be killed. They are a multinational task force to combat evil forces, the Dark Ones. They use spiritual warfare. They are a covert operations organization.
The Keepers are mentors, advisors, and handlers to the Watchers.
EC: What about some of the characters?
BA/JW: Jed is the main character, a Shepherd. He has anger issues, resentful, bitter, empathetic, compassionate, honorable, courageous, lonely, regretful, and has a Spidey-sense. Some of these characteristics dissipate in the fourth book, Dark Rising. In the first book he is going through a professional and spiritual crisis, having run away from his demons, both figuratively and literally. He became a Navy SEAL, the ultimate warrior. He is aging out of this job. He is becoming adrift and regrets walking away from his true love, Rachel. His journey in these books is the second act of his life where he finds a new place for himself after becoming a Shepherd leader, the head of Joshua Bravo. In Dark Rising he is put through the wringer and develops a sense of vulnerability and humiliation. He is emotionally spent. In this book he is starting a new journey.
Ben is the head of the Shepherds who was a former Navy SEAL. He decides what and where the mission will be. He decides to have a SEAL Team 6 type of unit for the real tricky and toughest missions which Jed will oversee.
Victor is the main bad guy in the first three books who is possessed by a legion of demons. He is the head of the Dark Ones. He can get into people’s minds. He is malicious, very intimidating, calm, hateful, mission oriented, results driven with a lot of rage. He is a little bit of a Darth Vader metaphor where he at one time was a person with humanity who over time was very corrupted and transformed. Victor allowed himself to be taken over by the Devil as was Darth Vader taken over by the emperor.
Woland is another bad guy, a Dark One. He is Lucifer-like, a sadist, powerful, and arrogant. He is a fallen Shepherd who wanted to use his skills for his own benefit.
David is Sarah Beth’s father. He is Yen to Jed’s Yang. He, Rachel, and Jed were like the Three Musketeers in high school. He is jealous of Jed for his abilities. Their dynamic is the heart of the story. He works with the Shepherds providing guidance.
Rachel is Sarah Beth’s mother. She is a private person, secure, confident, independent, protective, bitter, angry, and has abandonment issues. She was once in love with Jed. She still has the ability in her daughter’s presence to use some of her former Watcher skills.
Sarah Beth is a Watcher. She is an intricate player of the books. Looks on Jed as her family and uncle. She feels different. She is inexperienced and has powerful skills. Her courage is the most impressive. Throughout the books readers see her navigating the world. She encapsulates for us, the father of daughters, that to change the world there is no hiding at home.
Corbin is also a Watcher. She is sister-like to Sarah Beth. She is loyal, a tactician, analytical, and older beyond her years. She is what Sarah Beth can be if she tries and fulfills her potential.
Maria Perez: In the first three books she filled the emotional void for Jed. She was a police detective. She tries to manipulate Jed. Readers will see her as an anti-hero, a redemption character.
Gayle is the CIA liaison to the Shepherds. She is trustworthy, honorable, straight-shooter, calm, self-assured, tenacious, and brave. She is a critical thinker.
EC: The rest of the questions apply to the fourth book, Dark Rising. What about the relationship between Jed and Gayle?
BA/JW: They have bonded and like each other’s company. They can talk easily to each other. Gayle wishes Jed would confide in her more. There are sparks flying between them. In the first three books Jed had a preconceived idea that Rachel was his only soul mate and there will never be anyone else.
EC: In the latest book, is Sani a lot like Sarah-Beth?
BA/JW: She is a leader, defiant, strong-willed, and fearless. She is living in poverty with her grandma.
EC: The first three books were military thrillers with some science fiction but then while reading this book that had Voudou and Zombies I thought fantasy. Please explain.
BA/JW: They are not literal Zombies. Gayle explained that Voudou was based on hallucinogenic and paralytic drugs. Peoples’ heart rates slowed down with the drugs, putting a person into a
near death state in a coffin, buried alive. Just before the effects wear off, they are brought out of their coma state, the Priest digs up the victim and brainwashes them into thinking they’ve died and were brought back as a Zombie. The book quote, “They would be completely paralyzed and unable to speak or move. Their pulse would be faint to the point of undetectable…They would look dead, but they would be fully aware and awake.” In this culture the fear is becoming a Zombie. The victims had gone under PTSD.
EC: Is the new bad person, Manbo, the next female Victor and her aide, Calypso the next Woland?
BA/JW: Yes. She is pure evil. She tried to move the chess pieces to make herself the next Victor or at least someone else she can control. Calypso is the similar character as in the Odyssey. She is twisted, malignant, and tried to use her powers to keep people trapped and subservient.
EC: Next books?
BA/JW: We will continue writing more books in each series. In July will be the next “Sons of Valor” book, False Flag. This will be a new plot arc that has the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia murdered, and the blame is pointed at Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence. The company goes to the Middle East to help figure out who killed the Crown Prince and obviously the title of the book sort of gives it away.
The next “Tier One” book comes out in November and the title is the Adversary. The plot continues where the last book, Ember, left off. A Chinese agent was helping the terrorist organization al Qaeda that was responsible for the bombing that killed President Warner and the Indian Prime Minister. Richard Wang of the task force is kidnapped so it’s about trying to figure who took him and how to thwart the Chinese and the terrorists.
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 for MURDER IN THE APPALACHIANS by Susan Furlong on this Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Kingsumo giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
On the run in the mountains… with a killer on their trail.
After unearthing secrets from her late brother’s police notebook, journalist Emma Hayes discovers his death was no accident—he was murdered. Only someone doesn’t want Emma to find out the connection to the cold case her brother was investigating…and they’ll kill to keep it that way. Now Emma must rely on local ER doctor Logan Greer to help her stay alive and follow a trail of elusive evidence. But as they unravel a conspiracy, they realize that the killer could be anyone hiding in the mountains…
Genre: Love Inspired Suspense – Romantic Suspense Published by: Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense Publication Date: April 1, 2025 Number of Pages: 206 ISBN: 9781335980533 (ISBN10: 1335980539)
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
MURDER IN THE APPALACHIANS by Susan Furlong is an edge-of-you-seat Christian romantic suspense/mystery with plenty of action, twists, and surprises. This standalone Love Inspired Suspense book is set in a small ex-mining town in the scenic West Virginian Appalachian Mountains.
Emma Hayes is an investigative journalist living in Washington, D.C. who returns to her twin brother’s mountain cabin after his death. He was a police officer, supposedly killed while handling a traffic stop, but after listening to a message left by him on her phone, Emma believes he was murdered while investigating a local cold case. In her search of his cabin, she finds his notebook but is then chased by a masked man and shot at. She escapes down the river.
On vacation and fly fishing on the river, Dr. Logan Greer discovers a woman on the riverbank freezing. He takes her to his free clinic and his sister, a physician’s assistant, takes care of her wounds, and they take her home. Emma does not know who to trust, but Logan gains her trust as he saves her life more than once. What Emma does not know is that the cold case she is looking into ties to the disappearance of Logan’s youngest sister.
Someone is determined to keep their secrets, and to stop the attempts on their lives, Emma and Logan must uncover the secrets of this cold case and find the killer.
This is one of those stories that pull you in and you just want to read it from start to finish. Emma and Logan are both dealing with trauma and loss and are at different places in their relationship with their faith. They are feeling many of the same things, but Emma’s feelings are fresh while Logan has had more years to deal with his feelings even though he continues to search for the truth of his sister’s disappearance. Their romance and faith journeys both felt realistic and believable. This is a Christian based romance, so there are a few kisses, but no sex scenes. The suspense plot is intense and kept me turning the pages and continually guessing who was involved and who was innocent. I was very satisfied with the resolutions in the suspense plot, the cold case mystery and the HEA.
I highly recommend this exciting Christian romantic suspense!
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Author Bio
Susan Furlong grew up in North Dakota where she spent long winters at her local library scouring the shelves for mysteries to read. Now, she lives in Illinois with her husband and children and writes mysteries of all types. She has over a dozen published novels and her work has earned a spot in the New York Times list of top crime fiction books of the year. When not writing, she volunteers at her church and spends time hiking and fishing.
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.
After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.
She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.
Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case—and she’s willing to risk her life again if that’s what it takes to stop the horror.
HIDDEN NATURE by Nora Roberts is an intriguing mash-up of mystery, crime thriller, investigation, and romance with a bit of HGTV like home renovation going on throughout. The setting of this story is the beautiful Maryland mountains with a main character who is not only a member of the Natural Resources Police but is a genuine lover of nature and all its varied seasons. This is a standalone novel.
Sloan Cooper grew up knowing exactly what she wanted to do with her life. While her family runs a successful year-round vacation resort in the Heron’s Rest, she has her heart set on a career with the Natural Resources Police of Maryland. After closing a successful case, she and her partner stop at a small-town convenience store. Sloan walks into a robbery in progress and is shot in the chest.
After being shocked back to life, she has a long recuperation ahead. She returns to her childhood home, but even though she cannot return to work, she is bored. When she hears about the case of a missing woman which intrigues her. She decides to do a bit of online searching on her own and soon discovers there are more missing people in the tri-state area of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia that appear to have no connections other than their disappearances.
As the investigation continues with several jurisdictions on the case, Sloan realizes what the connection is between all the missing, but it is so bazaar, others find it hard to believe, but Sloan knows she is right. When a local friend goes missing, she is determined to find him and bring him home and stop the killer or killers because she may be on their list, too.
This is another great all-around, intriguing and satisfying book by Ms. Roberts. I opened this book and could not stop. Sloan is a strong, intelligent protagonist who is put through difficult physical and mental trials and doggedly continues forward. Her family and friends are all fully developed characters that are a strong support system and interesting in their own rights. The HGTV home renovations add a unique twist to the dialogue and focus when they are not discussing or chasing down the missing. I also loved the beautifully integrated descriptions of nature and wildlife in the area. The crime thriller plotline is woven throughout the book at an ever-increasing pace. The perpetrators are seriously scary and depraved and made the hair on my arms stand-up.
I highly recommend this amazing mash-up! Ms. Roberts is one of my all-time favorite authors and I always look forward to her books.
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About the Author
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Shelter in Place, Year One, Come Sundown, and many more. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than five hundred million copies of her books in print.
When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.
The morning after Elizabeth’s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah’s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth’s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth’s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every corner of the country’s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth’s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them–and the secrets of Hamilton’s society are lost forever.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman intertwines history within a mystery. The conspiratorial plot involves a secret society established by Alexander Hamilton to protect U.S. gold reserves from foreign and domestic enemies. The question throughout the story is, “Did Alexander Hamilton hide enough gold to prevent anyone from cornering the market and ruining the US?”
The characters need to answer that question to find out what happened to the last heir of Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Walker. The police are wondering if she jumped in front of a subway train or was pushed to her death. Her husband, Ralph, and her best friend Sarah Brockman, know that she was terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days. Sarah received a cryptic message, and Ralph recalls her running mysterious errands to search for a strange antique key including in a piano at the Hamilton Grange (the house Hamilton built in New York City). Then, Sarah receives a box of tattered documents and shows them to Ralph.
Working together to find answers to Elizabeth’s death, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep America safe. Also investigating her death is Detective Deborah Schwartz who knows Sarah and Ralph are hiding something. To make matters worse, Sarah’s co-worker Pierce Burr shares sensitive intelligence about gold reserves with his devious friend Timothy who works for the Treasury Department and is trying to thwart her efforts to find the truth. Pierce and Timothy are trying to involve foreign interference in the international gold market.
The story has a great plot, intriguing characters, and a lot of suspense. Readers will feel they are back in time during revolutionary days and then jump forward to today where the twists add to a riveting storyline.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Jenn Bregman: My husband and I lived in New York for about 12 years. The city lives and breathes Revolutionary era history. I became immersed in it and have a fondness for revolutionary times. The inspiration for the story came at that point. I read the Ron Chernow book and fell in love with Alexander Hamilton. Plus, I always have been interested in legacy issues and how the past continues through generations. Then the story just grew. Most of the historical facts in this book are accurate.
EC: What about the financial aspect of the story?
JB: I went to law school at UCLA where I met my husband. Then I became a Big Law litigator who practiced in Los Angeles and New York. I worked on Wall Street for many years and in banking compliance and trading. This part of the story was my life, so I did not need to do any research.
EC: What was true?
JB: 48 Wall Street, the first bank of New York, does have a raised basement. It is possible the vaults are there. The part about Fort Knox is a basis in speculation. There has never been a full accounting of the gold depositories in the US because the government does not want it. One of the facts that is true. It took the US four years to give the German bank back their gold bars. And it is true there is no accounting. Also, the piano in the story that had a little matchbox draw underneath is still at the Hamilton Grange.
EC: What was the role of Alexander Hamilton, his daughter, Angelica, and the handkerchief?
JB: He has an active and passive role. He put in place the vision for America within a secret society. He set up a trove to set up this secret society. Angelica became mentally disabled through the grief of losing her brother. The only thing that would soothe her is to play the piano over and over. The piano that I speak about is at the Hamilton Grange. The clue was a picture of Angleica with the handkerchief and the piano.
EC: How would you describe Elizabeth?
JB: Charming, stressed, short tempered at a certain point in the story, and feels she has a legacy. She has great virtue, integrity, courage, and strength. Elizabeth always gave of her time to support the Hamilton legacy.
EC: How would you describe Sarah?
JB: Tough, fair, loyal, and courageous with a conscience. She is sometimes conflicted. She has more layers than Elizabeth.
EC: What about Ralph?
JB: Kind, gentle, resourceful, sweet, creative, trusting, and anxious during this point in the story.
EC: What about Pierce?
JB: He is anti-hero, manipulative, and self-centered. He was greedy, someone who wanted to gain money and prominence. He also wanted to save his family legacy. He allowed the greed to cloud his eyes.
EC: What role did Detective Schwartz play?
JB: She is inquisitive, analytical, wise, and suspicious. She is seasoned because she knew that both Sarah and Ralph were hiding something but let it run its course.
EC: Next book?
JB: I am working on it now. Some of the characters will continue including Sarah but not Hamilton. The next book takes place shortly after this book and will be a thriller.
THANK YOU!!
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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.
