Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for A LETTER FROM IRELAND by Ann O’Loughlin on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour post.
Below you will find a book summary, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Summary
My whole life, I’ve been haunted by a secret I’ve left behind on the coast of Ireland. I may be gone, but if you’re reading this Casey, I need to tell you everything…
When Casey’s dear friend Rosie passes away, her heart breaks in two; Rosie didn’t even tell her she was sick. And when a mysterious letter arrives from beyond the grave, describing the secluded island where Rosie spent every summer, Casey questions if she really knew her friend at all. With Casey’s hectic job ruling her life, and her marriage crumbling around her, she books a ticket to this beautiful Irish island to feel close to Rosie again, and find out what secrets she has hidden there.
Casey rushes to Rosie’s tumbledown cottage and immediately falls in love with the glimmering shores and breathtaking coves of Scarty Island. Why did Rosie keep this magical place a secret, even from her own husband? Desperate for answers, she jumps to the aid of locals organizing afternoon teas for tourists, and helps handsome but overworked pub owner Shay. Though Shay stays tight-lipped, Casey notices how his hazel eyes shine when she makes him laugh, and how her heart skips a beat when his rough hands brush hers.
But just as Casey finds herself falling for Shay’s quiet strength, a final letter arrives that changes everything. The tear-stained pages tell the story of a forbidden romance and a tragic day at sea that destroyed Rosie’s life. It could shatter Casey’s blossoming romance and tear the small island community apart.
A LETTER FROM IRELAND by Ann O’Loughlin is a women’s fiction story about four best friends who have a falling out and are never the same again. When Rosie passes away from cancer, which none of her friends knew about, she sets up a two-month long reunion of the remaining three women on her private island off the coast of Ireland, but there are secrets to be revealed in the form of letters from their dead friend.
The description of this story had me wanting to sit down and read about these women’s lives and it is full of surprises and big emotions, but not until far too late into the book. The first third of the story was repetitive, slow, and almost had me putting it down for good, but I carried on and was glad that I did as far as the overall plot.
The three women are portrayed at various stages of their lives and Casey is the focus. I had a hard time warming up to her and I never felt a deep connection to any of the three. The story focused as much on the location as the women which I felt their character development should have been deeper. The romantic subplot between Casey and Shay just felt thrown in and did not make me feel any more for Casey, especially since she was still legally married.
Overall, this was just an alright women’s fiction read that for me did not live up to the promise.
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About the Author
Ann is the Irish author of five novels and has been translated into eleven languages. Her first novel The Ballroom Cafe was also an ebook bestseller and in the top 20 bestselling books of 2015 on Amazon UK. Ann loves to write and often gets up at 5am to get the words down, before starting her other job of writing as a news reporter. A leading journalist in Ireland, Ann has covered all major news events in a long career with Independent Newspapers, Ireland. She is now a senior journalist with the Irish Examiner specialising in legal issues. Ann has also lived in India. Originally from the west of Ireland she now lives on the east coast with her husband and family.
A GATHERING OF SECRETS (A Kate Burkholder Novel Book #10) by Linda Castillo is a gritty new small-town police procedural/crime thriller featuring Chief of Police Kate Burkholder in Painters Mill which is in Ohio Amish Country. This book can be read as a standalone for the crime thriller plot, but Kate’s personal and professional life have evolved throughout the series, and I enjoy reading them in order.
Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called late in the night when an Amish family’s barn burns to the ground and their son is missing. The fire investigator is called when the fire fighters smell gasoline and a charred body is found locked in the tack room. The body is identified as eighteen-year-old Daniel Gingerich who appears to be a well-liked and hard-working Amish young man, so who would want him dead?
As Kate investigates Daniel’s life, she finds herself impeded by the Amish community of which she was once a member. As dark secrets begin to surface, Kate is forced to once again face the personal crime perpetrated against her in her youth which has an eerie similarity to what is whispered about Daniel Gingerich. While the Amish are a peaceful and loving community, there are certain things that are not discussed and can go unpunished due to shaming of the victim, and which are crimes in the Englisher world. Kate has many suspects, but the solution to this crime will lead to danger and sorrow.
I love reading this series and following Kate’s life. Kate is a complex character. She at times misses the Amish life but accepts her current path is the right one for her, especially when it comes to justice for everyone. All of Kate’s officers have a strong bond, Tomasetti is once again a great personal partner, and finally Tomasetti has popped the big question. Yeah. The crime plot was dark and gritty, especially juxtaposed against the assumed always perfect Amish way of life. This crime thriller is perfectly paced with plenty of surprise twists along the way and a surprise ending I was not expecting.
I highly recommend this small-town police procedural/crime thriller!
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About the Author
Linda Castillo is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Kate Burkholder series, set in the world of the Amish. The first book, Sworn to Silence, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, the Mystery Writers of America’s Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and an appearance on the Boston Globe’s shortlist for best crime novel. In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives in Texas with her husband and is currently at work on her next book.
Maggie Lawson is the smart, capable dean of a boutique college, but even the most confident mother has a weakness – her child. When Maggie can’t reach her college senior son, Aiden, to tell him that his father has been shot, she starts to panic. She texts. She calls.
Is Aiden ghosting her, or have the dangerous stories Aiden’s father, her investigative journalist ex-husband, pursues finally brought trouble to her door? Maggie is sure that something is very wrong, but no one believes her. As dark events unfold, she must rely on her own investigative instincts to find Aiden. But when Maggie uncovers a devastating secret, she faces a race against time to save him.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Son’s Secret by Daryl Wood Gerber is not the type of story her readers are used to. Instead of gardens, tea shops, and fairies flying around she has ventured into suspense and mystery. This story explores the complex mother-adult son dynamic. Parents will relate to the main character understanding the fine line between being hovering to being supportive and caring. Plus, the anxiety that every parent goes through when their children do not answer their texts.
This story has Maggie Larson, now the Dean of a college, trying to notify her son, Aiden, that his father has been shot and is in the hospital. When Aiden does not respond she begins to panic. Since they were close, she finds it difficult to believe he would ghost her, disappearing and disregarding her texts.
She eventually gets her ex-husband, Josh, to believe her and together they investigate what could have happened to their son. As they pursue the disappearance, evidence and then threats pile up, convincing them that something seriously has happened.
This story can be considered a domestic and psychological thriller. Readers will be put on a rollercoaster ride. There is tension and intrigue that will have people taking the journey with Maggie.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why this genre?
Daryl Wood Gerber: When I first became a writer, I wrote suspense, but they did not get published. Finally with the cozy mystery genre I found my voice. Yet, I still wanted to write suspense. So, I took a couple of the suspense I first had written and re-wrote them. I wrote outside the norm of the cozy. I had an English publisher put this story out.
EC: Idea for this book?
DWG: This story had been sticking in my head for a long time. It came to me when my son was clerking for a judge in New Orleans. I thought ‘what would happen if he disappeared, and I could not get a hold of him.’ This is a mother’s worse nightmare.
EC: Do you think part of the key to this story is the non-response of adult children?
DWG: Yes! The adult children do not answer their phones, and many times do not answer their texts. It drives me crazy, and I put it in the story. I would write to my son asking if he had seen my three previous texts and to please respond. He answered, ‘sorry mom I got busy, and I thought I did.’ Really, he could see if he did. My first fear is that something was wrong because he was not responding. I do not think I overreact.
EC: How would you describe Maggie?
DWG: A nurturer, hovers, caring, sometimes smothering. She wonders if she is a helicopter mom. When her friend and daughter-in-law tells her she is too much she wonders if she is over-reacting to her son not responding or is she right to worry. She is a complex character because this is a contradiction to her being a dean of a college, and previously an investigative reporter. After her brother committed suicide, her mother checked out. Maggie promised herself she was not going to be that type of mother and would be dialed in. Her attitude comes from myself who is a mom who does not want to hover but wants to guide because I am older and wiser.
EC: How would you describe her son Aiden?
DWG: He is artistic, creative, and at times emotionally overwhelmed. He is sometimes very tough on himself. After he lost his fiancé, he has become emotionally ripped open for two years. Now a woman comes into his life who he falls in love with. He can be temperamental.
EC: What is the role of Maggie’s divorce?
DWG: Her ex-husband is an investigative reporter. After he had a couple of affairs they got divorced. I had him shot and in the hospital to show that Aiden does not respond to the dad also, never reaches out, even though they are close. Maggie must repair the bridge with her ex so they can work together to find Aiden. He helps to keep her grounded. They become a wonderful team if the emotional baggage is taken away.
EC: What about the role of suicide?
DWG: Maggie had to deal with it twice in her life. Once, when her brother committed suicide, and when she had a student commit suicide. Now she worries if Aiden has committed suicide. This drives the story.
EC: Next book?
DWG: It comes out in October, the first in a new series, “The Literary Dining Mysteries.” It is titled Murder on The Page. It is a cozy mystery involving food and books. A caterer lives in North Carolina in the Blue Ridge mountains who was close to the local bookstore owner. After she were killed, she is determined to find out who did it. Each book in the series will focus on some classic novel. This one will have Pride and Prejudice. The community will have book clubs with food, reading, and dress up.
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.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for ZENITH MAN: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom by McCracken Poston, Jr. on this AME Bog Tour.
Below you will find an author Q&A, a book synopsis, my book review, an excerpt from the book, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Author Q&A
How did you do research for your book?
Since my book is about a murder trial in which I was the defendant’s lawyer, the research was first done for the trial. Beyond my case file, I did other research in the media archives and other places to piece together the strange story of Alvin and Virginia Ridley.
Which was the hardest character to write? The easiest?
Unplanned, my book also became the true story about the relationship between me and my father. I wrote it truthfully, but any time you are writing about a loved one, it can be hard. The easiest character to write about was my client, Alvin Ridley, although he was a tough client!
What made you write a book about the Zenith Man?
This was the most incredible story to live through. After the trial ended, I immediately felt that this would be a good book.
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
So far, I have written nonfiction.
There are many books out there about true crime. What makes yours different?
My story is the inside account of being the criminal defense lawyer for a most unusual defendant.
What advice would you give budding writers?
Write the bones of your story down quickly. You can add the other stuff later. Save the stories!
In your book you state….”The voters would get their change, but mostly the faces would stay the same.” Why is that?
The rash of partisan party-switching that took place in Georgia after my last political race (and first defeat).
Do you have another profession besides writing?
I am a full-time criminal defense lawyer, thanks to the second act that Alvin Ridley gave me, and for 28 years I have been a part-time juvenile court judge.
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing down experiences and stories all of my adult life. Social media allowed me to share vignettes and short tales, all true stories.
Do you ever get writer’s block? What helps you overcome it?
Maya Angelou once said “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Until recently, I understood this agony. She was speaking to me.
What is your next project?
I have been blessed with many interesting legal cases, but I am also drawn to trying my hand at fiction – perhaps based on true stories.
What genre do you write and why?
Nonfiction. The story I had to tell is a true story.
What is the last great book you’ve read?
I recently reread The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
Someone I know told me that they could hear my voice in the writing of my book.
If your book were made into a movie, who would star in the leading roles?
I refuse to jinx it, but the Alvin Ridley role is Oscar bait!
If your book were made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?
I would love classic 1980s Athens, Georgia music, to wit: Pylon, B52s, R.E.M.
What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing your book?
I was frustrated in the telling of the story in other ways over the years.
In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like?
For years like the tortoise, then at once like the hare!
What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring author?
Keep at it.
Which authors inspired you to write?
Grisham, Turow, King
What is something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?
My first draft was 177,000 words. Obviously, lots had to go. But I think it came out about right.
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Book Synopsis
Was this small-town TV repair man “a harmless eccentric or a bizarre killer” (Atlanta Journal Constitution). For the first time, Alvin Ridley’s own defense attorney reveals the inside story of his case and trial in an extraordinary tale of friendship and an idealistic young attorney’s quest to clear his client’s name—and, in the process, rebuild his own life.
In October 1997, the town of Ringgold in northwest Georgia was shaken by reports of a murder in its midst. A dead woman was found in Alvin Ridley’s house—and even more shockingly, she was the wife no one knew he had.
McCracken Poston had been a state representative before he lost his bid for U.S. Congress and returned to his law career. Alvin Ridley was a local character who once sold and serviced Zenith televisions. Though reclusive and an outsider, the “Zenith Man,” as Poston knew him, hardly seemed capable of murder.
Alvin was a difficult client, storing evidence in a cockroach-infested suitcase, unwilling to reveal key facts to his defender. Gradually, Poston pieced together the full story behind Virginia and Alvin’s curious marriage and her cause of death—which was completely overlooked by law enforcement. Calling on medical experts, testimony from Alvin himself, and a wealth of surprising evidence gleaned from Alvin’s junk-strewn house, Poston presented a groundbreaking defense that allowed Alvin to return to his peculiar lifestyle, a free man.
Years after his trial, Alvin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a revelation that sheds light on much of his lifelong personal battle—and shows how easily those who don’t fit societal norms can be castigated and misunderstood. Part true crime, part courtroom drama, and full of local color, Zenith Man is also the moving story of an unexpected friendship between two very different men that changed—and perhaps saved—the lives of both.
ZENITH MAN: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom by McCracken Poston, Jr. is a captivating debut true crime/court room novel told by the small-town Southern attorney of a man accused of murdering his wife no one knew he had. This is the first time I have heard of this case. Court room dramas can sometimes be very boring or dry, but this case is fascinating, and I could not put the book down.
Alvin Ridley had been considered “different” his entire life in Ringgold, Georgia. One day in October 1997 Alvin called 911 to report the death of his wife. No one knew he was married or that anyone was even living with him. Alvin tried to tell the authorities he found his wife dead in her bed with her face in her pillow after an epileptic seizure, but the coroner believes it is a murder, and he is arrested.
McCracken Poston, Jr. returned to his law career after a failed Congressional election and failed marriage. Alvin was known to Poston as a local character who used to sell and repair Zenith televisions. Alvin asks Poston to represent him after his arrest and he agrees because he just cannot believe Alvin is capable of murder.
Alvin is a difficult client, but Poston learns how to bargain and deal with his idiosyncrasies. As evidence is disclosed, Alvin and his wife’s lives are examined, and Poston spends more time with Alvin, he is determined to prove Alvin innocent.
This is a story that pulled me in from start to finish. Mr. Poston’s storytelling brought Alvin to life on the printed page. He is honest about his personal failings and his misunderstanding of Alvin, who was years later diagnosed to be on the Autism spectrum, even as he grows to care about his client personally. As the story progressed, I felt more and more compassion and empathy for Alvin. His care of his mother before she died, his love of his wife, his care of his cats, and his love and pride in his TV repair shop all showed how he tried to always do what was right, but because of his paranoia and autism, many others in his small-town ostracized him. What we do not understand, we fear. His chosen inscription on his tombstone made me cry. With Alvin not being diagnosed at the time of his trial, you wonder how many other “different” people have been wrongly accused and imprisoned over the years.
I highly recommend this debut true crime novel with a defendant I will not soon forget.
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Excerpt
Prologue
October 4, 1997
Emerging from his late parents’ run-down house on Inman Street, itself for years the target of local innuendo, Alvin Ridley, failed television repairman and the town bogeyman, abruptly turns to lock the door. Glancing around to see if his perceived tormentors are watching him, he pulls open the formidable homemade gate and then slowly drives a thirty-two-year-old Chevrolet pickup truck through it. Then he jumps back out and quickly closes and locks the gate with chains and a padlock.
Two-tenths of a mile down Evitt Street, he carefully drives the 25 mph speed limit right past the local volunteer fire department, visibly staffed with an ambulance and professional EMTs always on the ready, and turns south on U.S. Highway 41, away from town. Thinking better of it less than half a mile later, he pulls into the roadside monument for the 1863 Battle of Ringgold Gap and turns around.
Continuing to drive slowly, as if it were a usual lazy Saturday morning, he pulls into the ShopRite parking lot and tries the pay phone on the exterior wall. Unsuccessful with this attempt, he gets back into the truck and drives through two parking lots to a pay phone located along LaFayette Street, behind the Catoosa County Courthouse Annex and Jail. He puts coins in the phone and calls, if you believe the later speculation, a funeral home to retrieve a dead body from his house. He most certainly calls Erlanger Hospital in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, but is instructed that this is a matter for the Catoosa County authorities.
Reluctantly he dials 911. The Catoosa County 911 office is just across the street. The operators could look out the single window facing LaFayette Street and see the stooped figure making the call.
“Catoosa 911. Where is your emergency?”
A pause, and then he answers flatly, giving his home address.
“What’s the problem?”
Again, lacking emotion, he says, “I think my wife’s passed out.”
The operator confirmed the address.
“Yeah.”
“Is she breathing?”
“I don’t think so—it’s behind the steel plant there.” He adds matter-of-factly, “I’m calling from a pay phone booth.”
“You don’t have a phone at your house?”
“There’s no phone there.”
This is the portion of the 911 call, in the detached voice of the caller, that is instantly spread around the world upon the revelation that a dead body was found in the ramshackle house on Inman Street. The immediate problem for investigators is, who was this soul? Certainly not the alleged spouse of the infamously solitary Alvin Ridley. Ridley said it was his wife, but can produce no identification for her. The body of the woman he calls his wife—Virginia—is declared dead by the coroner Vanita Hullander, who plans to take it to the hospital across the county in Fort Oglethorpe, and the next morning,deliver it to the state crime lab in Atlanta.
The portions of the 911 call not shared with the public or played on the news stations were the parts where the caller shared that his wife was, in his words, “epi-letic”, or that he ended the call with a request: “Please hurry.”
Later that morning, five miles to the south, an extremely hungover failed politician, failed husband, and marginally failing lawyer, rises. Too down and broken to even drive to Athens to see his beloved University of Georgia Bulldogs play, and seeking something for his blinding headache, he drives slowly into town.
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Author Bio
McCracken King Poston Jr, is a criminal defense attorney and former state legislator in the Georgia House of Representatives. He gained national attention for his handling of several notable cases that were featured on CNN Presents, Dateline NBC, A&E’s American Justice and Forensic Files.
She left home as the local pariah at twenty-two, but when a family tragedy brings her back, she must confront her tortured past—and a new danger in town that no one seems to understand but her.
After years of self-exile, Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasn’t been there since the beloved chief of police fell to his death—and all the whispers said she was to blame.
That chief was Jac’s father.
Racked with guilt, Jac left town with no plans to return. But when her granddad lands in the hospital, she rushes back to her family, bracing herself to confront the past.
Brook Haven feels different now. Wealthy newcomer Faye Arden has transformed the notorious Moor Manor into a quaint country inn. Jac’s convinced something sinister lurks beneath Faye’s perfect exterior, yet the whole town fawns over their charismatic new benefactor. And when Jac discovers one of her granddad’s prized possessions in Faye’s office, she knows she has to be right.
But as Jac continues to dig, she stumbles upon dangerous truths that hit too close to home. With not only her life but also her family’s safety on the line, Jac discovers that maybe some secrets are better left buried.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Not What She Seems by Yasmin Angoe is a very suspenseful domestic thriller that will keep readers on their toes.
The plot has the heroine, Jac Brodie, leaving home when she was twenty-two years old. She comes back after a family tragedy, where she must confront her tortured past―and a new danger in town that no one seems to understand but her.
After years of self-exile, Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasn’t been there since the beloved chief of police, her dad, fell to his death―and all the whispers said she was to blame.
Racked with guilt, Jac left town and had no plans to return. But when her granddad lands in the hospital, she rushes back to her family, bracing herself to confront the past.
Brook Haven feels different now. Wealthy newcomer Faye Arden has transformed the notorious Moor Manor into a quaint country inn. Jac’s convinced something sinister lurks beneath Faye’s perfect exterior, yet the whole town fawns over their charismatic new benefactor. And when Jac discovers one of her granddad’s prized possessions in Faye’s office, she knows she must be right.
But as Jac continues to dig, she stumbles upon dangerous truths that hit too close to home. With not only her life but also her family’s safety on the line, Jac discovers that confronting the truth is very dangerous.
This is an excellent read with fast-paced action, jaw-dropping plot twists, and flawed but likable characters.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story and is this a series?
Yasmin Angoe: Currently I plan on this being a one and done stand-alone, although if my publisher wants, I can write more books. I really wanted to write a domestic thriller that is intimate and set in the same state I live in. The focus of the story is how people do not really know who others really are. I hope readers saw this as a cat and mouse type of story.
EC: Was is based on anything?
YA: A modernized version of “The Spider and The Fly.” What happens when people are unmasked.
EC: What was said about the heart pacemaker, is it true?
YA: I asked my cardiologist. I am one of the few younger people that have problems. I wanted to know what would happen if, and could it happen. I thought about having the granddad with a pacemaker. It is not easy, but if the laser is continually applied to that exact spot, it could make it malfunction.
EC: What was the role of the grandfather?
YA: He was the catalyst for the heroine, Jac. Until he was harmed, she did not have a purpose or something to fight for. He was a way for her to work on her own issues by focusing on what happened to him. She wanted to make up for all those years of running away and not facing her own reality.
EC: Beyond that do you think he served as her mentor?
YA: Yes. He called her Junior Dick, as in detective. He taught her things. He always held her together.
EC: How would you describe Jac?
YA: Jac is reckless and is all over the place. She runs from her problems and does not face them. She acts before thinking, which gets her in a lot of trouble.
EC: Is Sawyer Jac’s opposite?
YA: Probably. She is Jac’s good friend. She has a good family life. She is happy and self-assured. She is not coming from a place of loss and hurt like Jac is. Sawyer is more carefree and does not have baggage.
EC: What is the relationship between Sawyer and Jac?
YA: Jac trusts Sawyer completely. She is Jac’s safe place. Jac knows Sawyer is not going to judge her.
EC: Can you explain the quote about USC, which was hilarious?
YA: You mean the one, “USC, the University of South Carolina, the real USC, not the one in California.” I had to do it. Remember the book is set in South Carolina. When I moved here, I now live about ten minutes from USC. Everyone is serious about supporting either USC or Clemson. If someone says USC, meaning the SO CAL one, people will hate them for life. They feel they are the real USC, because it comes first.
EC: What about the other quote, that refers to people who want to be liked and might try too hard?
YA: A lot of people are like this these days. It seems they do not have their own mind. People do not have to go along to get along. This could apply to most of the characters in the book. For example, Jac’s mom tried to mold her two daughters into what she thought a Southern lady should be. Jac rebelled against this. She wants to be different, which is why she was known as the “wild Brodie girl.”
EC: How would you describe one of the characters, Faye?
YA: She does not really want to go along to get along. But she does do it when she needs it to further her goals. Then she goes back to what she really wants to be after convincing others. She pushes people, does not like to leave loose ends, and fakes apologies. She has two faces: innocent, bubbly versus coy and unfriendly. The title comes into play because the story shows how most of the characters did have two faces. Faye has it to the extreme.
EC: Do you think Jac has two faces?
YA: No. This is problematic for her. The town is OK with people having two faces. People like to deal with others who are complacent, nice, and do not create any worries. Jac wants to be accepted for who she is: not a girly girl. Jac can see through Faye and does not take her at face value. As the story goes on Jac realizes she is responsible, thoughtful, and perceptive.
EC: In the beginning of the book readers are unsure of Jac?
YA: Yes. Jac had a lot of issues with the town and herself. The readers do not know what happened between Jac and her dad’s death. I wanted the reader to be on the ride with Jac. At first, Jac sees herself as a loser who cannot do anything right. This might make her unreliable in the beginning until her whole truth comes out.
EC: Next book?
YA: It is coming out in December 2025. I am working it on currently. It will be a revenge story. It will deal with complicated families.
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.
London based lawyer Kyra Gibson returns to Martha’s Vineyard and the beach house she inherited for an extended summer holiday. Still reeling from her father’s brutal murder and the role she and the handsome detective, Tarek Collins played in uncovering it, Kyra is hopeful for some peace and quiet. But when a summer squall reveals the wreckage of the pirate ship, Keres, rich with rumored treasure, all hopes of peace are dashed. Conservationists and treasure hunters descend on the exclusive island to lay claim to the ship. When two of the salvagers are killed, Kyra and Tarek’s friend, pub owner and amateur historian, Gully Gould is arrested for murder.
Determined to prove Gully’s innocence, Kyra, Tarek, and reformed playboy Chase Hawthorn team up to clear their friend’s name. But someone wants the treasure for themselves. And with someone willing to kill for it, there is more than just danger lurking along the island’s caves and coves. There is death.
THE WRAITH’S RETURN (Martha’s Vineyard Murders Book #2) by Raemi A. Ray is the second book in the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series with Kyra returning to Martha’s Vineyard for an extended summer holiday and finds herself and her island friends helping one of their own accused of murder. This story can be read as a standalone, but I feel the books are best read in order as the main characters continually evolved in their relationships from book one.
This book has murder, conservationists vs. fisherman, islanders vs. vacationers, and a historical pirate story, and treasure hunters all combined in this mystery read. I am not sure if it is because there is so much going on, which should have made for many red herrings, but when I reached the end, I felt the killer was just there with no build up of tension or foreboding until very close to the end. All the information and side characters were interesting, but at times slowed the plot pace. I love Kyra, Tarek, and Chase and find them all to be interesting characters. I look forward to following them in future books, but I have to say that I liked the mystery plot in book one, A Chain of Pearls, better. The characters pulled me through this story more than the mystery plot.
Overall, a little bit of a let down after such a great debut.
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Author Bio
Raemi A. Ray’s travels to Martha’s Vineyard and around the world inspire her stories. She lives outside Boston. When not writing or traveling she earns her keep as the personal assistant to the resident house demons, Otto and Dolph Lundgren.
