Tag: #aboutauthor

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Midwife at Ivy Cottage by Rebecca Alexander

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE MIDWIFE AT IVY COTTAGE (Wildflower Secrets Book #4) by Rebecca Alexander on this Bookouture Books-On-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

Imogen holds the faded photograph of a baby up to the golden light by the ivy-covered cottage. Her breath catches. The sweet face reminds her of a child she once cared for… and can never forget. Who is this baby, and why was his photograph hidden here?

After heartbreak turned her world upside down, Imogen was forced to leave her nursing job and the life she had built behind. Now she has come to a beautiful countryside village, where she’s renovating a tumbledown cottage she hopes to call home. She never imagined the wartime secrets it’s hiding. Or that working alongside Jaz, the warm-hearted, handsome local builder with a kind smile, will make her light up in a way she hasn’t for a long time…

Hidden inside the cottage she discovers the photograph of a baby, and the incredible story of Julia, a midwife who once lived at Ivy Cottage. Julia devoted her life to caring for the village’s mothers and babies during World War Two, at a time when every birth was full of danger. Including a tiny infant who she was determined to save…

As Imogen pieces together the little boy’s story and Julia’s extraordinary courage, she begins to confront the loss she has buried for so long. With Jaz by her side, could Ivy Cottage finally be the place where her heart begins to heal?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250518392-the-midwife-at-ivy-cottage?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=bpg5GcdjGq&rank=1

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0GHPZRFGCsocial

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE MIDWIFE AT IVY COTTAGE (Wildflower Secrets Book #4) by Rebecca Alexander is a heartfelt, emotional dual timeline WWII historical fiction and women’s fiction mash-up with romantic elements in the Wildflower Secrets series. While these stories can be read as standalone books, there are many crossover characters in both the historical and present-day timelines which makes it more enjoyable reading them in order and reconnecting with the characters you loved in previous books.

Present Day: Imogen “Immy” and her father have come a long way in renovating the old manor house into a senior home with the help of a local contractor/carpenter, Jasper, “Jaz”. When she investigates the Ivy Cottage behind the manor to hopefully renovate for her personal use, she discovers a picture of a young boy, and she is determined to discover his past with the help of others in the town. He reminds her so much of the patient she lost as a pediatric ICU nurse before coming to help her father.

1940’s: Sister Julia is a trained midwife who survives the bombing of the hospital she works at. She is offered the position of helping evacuees, pregnant mothers and their small babies, billeted throughout the small villages on the moors. She is given the Ivy Cottage to live in behind the manor house. She becomes integral in the lives of many mothers and their babies as well as the young doctor in town to help his father’s practice. When a mother delivers a baby with Downs syndrome, Julia becomes more than professionally involved.

This is a story that is inspiring, heartbreaking, and deeply emotional with two women who are both dedicated professionals as well as troubled by an incident in their lives that could change their future paths. Immy and Julia are both strong women and while they work through personal and/or professional difficulties, they do it with grace. This is just an all-around endearing story with great characters and just the right amount of romance and history. If you have read the previous books and love all the seniors living in the manor, make sure you have tissues ready at the end of the present timeline.

I highly recommend this addition to the Wildflower Secrets series!

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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.

Mailing List: https://bookouture.com/subscribe/rebecca-alexander

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.rebecca-alexander.co.uk/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6151960.Rebecca_Alexander

Feature Post and Book Review: Voices of the Elysian Fields by Michael Rigg

Book Description

Two days before Christmas, Jonathan Gray, M. D., Chief Deputy Coroner for Orleans Parish, receives shocking news. Robby O’Malley—Jonathan’s mentor for nearly forty years—has died under mysterious circumstances. Within hours after Robby’s death, Gray takes the oath of office as Coroner and participates in autopsies of an elderly couple murdered in their Garden District home. After mass on Christmas morning, Archbishop Phillip Fontenot asks Gray to investigate the sexual assault of one of his parishioners, as well as the disappearance of her sister—without involving the police. As Jonathan winds his way through what appear to be separate incidents, he uncovers connections and secrets that members of the city’s power elite would just as soon remain hidden.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230857363-voices-of-the-elysian-fields?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=5zzgAl1Wyl&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

VOICES OF THE ELYSIAN FIELDS (A Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery) by Michael Rigg is an exciting, fast paced start to a new mystery/crime thriller series featuring the Chief Coroner of New Orleans. This book pulls you in from the first chapter with realistic characters and a total immersion into life in New Orleans.

Just two days before Christmas, Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Jonathan Grey finds himself at the death scene of the Chief Coroner of New Orleans, his long-term mentor and friend. Just hours later after taking the oath of office to Chief Coroner, he receives a high-profile elderly couple from the Garden District in what appears to be a murder-suicide. As the detectives investigate, the autopsy results call the original assumption into question.

Not only does he have a wealthy, prominent New Orleans family to deal with, but the Archbishop of New Orleans asks for Jonathan’s discrete help after Christmas day mass in the sexual assault of a couple that has asked the church for sanctuary.

With pressure coming from all sides, Jonathan and his friends on the New Orleans detective squad must untangle a web of deceit that brings together the political elite, the rich and powerful, and a multi-country sex trafficking ring. Are all these holiday death cases related or not and can he keep his friends and loved ones safe?

This is a wonderful start to a new series that kept me reading well into the night. The characters are fully developed and realistic even with this being the first book in this series. Jonathan and his wife are a tight couple even with the tragedy in their past and I love that they are well suited to each other, but also singularly strong characters. Jonathan and the detectives followed an intricately plotted investigation with red herrings and twists that continually had me reevaluating who I believed was guilty and whether the two major cases were related or not. The city of New Orleans’ history, geography, and people are woven throughout the story and made me feel like I was right there on the streets with the characters. I am looking forward to reading many more books with these characters in the future.

I highly recommend this amazing first book in the Jonathan Grey, M.D. Mystery series!

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About the Author

Agatha and Anthony-nominated author Michael Rigg, an attorney for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.

Social Media Links

Website: https://michaelrigg.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.rigg.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael.rigg716/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/voices-of-the-elysian-fields-a-jonathan-gray-m-d-mystery-by-michael-rigg

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The German Sisters by Marty Wingate

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE GERMAN SISTERS by Marty Wingate on this Bookouture book tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

1938, Germany. “Be brave, little one,” her mother whispers. Dagmar holds her hand tightly through the train window, trembling, trying not to cry. But as the train lurches forward, they are torn apart, and her mother is swallowed by the darkness.

As the train carries her far away from home, ten-year-old Dagmar’s hand tightens around her sister’s. As little Heike leans in, her acorn-coloured eyes wide, Dagmar is terrified she won’t be able to keep her safe…

Dagma heart aches for her mother but only children were allowed on board. The carriage is crowded; a small boy hugs a battered teddy bear and cries for his father. A girl her own age whispers that this train is rescuing Jewish children. But their families have been left behind…

As the train jolts along the track, Dagmar holds her breath. Her scuffed suitcase, with everything she owns inside, bangs painfully against her. Dagmar and Heike have nobody else but each other; what will happen to them? And will they ever see their mother again?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252188237-the-german-sisters?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=GMbOadtuPc&rank=3

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0H1NHLSJ9social

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE GERMAN SISTERS by Marty Wingate is an emotional WWII historical fictional story of two young Jewish sisters evacuated to England on the Kindertransport from Germany. While this book is easily read as a standalone story, it is set in the English countryside at Oxborough Manor with the cast of characters previously introduced in “The House for Lost Children” also by this author.

Ten-year-old Dagmar and her little sister Heike are sent by their parents after Kristallnacht on the Kindertransport to England. Dagmar is told she must take care of her sister and write to let them know where they settle and write the Jewish refugee committee to ask for assistance in getting a travel visa for them to follow. A heavy burden for a ten-year-old especially with a war engulfing Europe. Will they ever see their Mutti and Vati again?

After a fire in the first home they are settled in, the sisters end up resettling at Oxborough Manor with Lady B, Jack, and other evacuated children from London. As they settle into the manor, they are surrounded by the love and understanding they need, but will it be enough for Dagmar to let others help with her worries and burdens?

This is an emotional roller-coaster of a story. Dagmar has so much placed on her young shoulders and she does not know how to ask for help without feeling they will lose what they have if they need anything. Her continued letter writing was heart-breaking. When the sisters end up at Oxborough Manor, I was so excited to revisit the characters I had come to love in The House of Lost Children. The entire book is full of situations and emotions that are realistic and kept me turning the pages. Make sure you have plenty of tissues ready for the epilogue.

I highly recommend this moving WWII historical fiction!

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About the Author

Marty Wingate is a USA Today best-selling author of both mysteries and historical fiction. Marty enjoys weaving humor into her books and creating characters—from quirky and loveable to sinister and duplicitous—that leap off the page. Before embarking on her series about the London Ladies Murder Club with Bookouture, Marty published three contemporary cozy mystery series (the Potting Shed, Birds of a Feather, and First Edition Library books). She has also published two standalone books of historical fiction and found stories of the past to be compelling. She’s delighted to combine her penchant for both mysteries and histories to bring her readers more satisfying stories. Marty currently resides near Seattle, Washington.

Mailing List: https://bookouture.com/subscribe/marty-wingate

Social Media Links

Website: http://martywingate.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martywingateauthor/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-german-sisters-completely-heartbreaking-and-unforgettable-world-war-two-fiction-by-marty-wingate

Feature Post and Book Review: A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly

Book Description

1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.

However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.

With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, will Evelyne be able to find out who’s been selling England’s secrets and catch a killer, all while battling her growing attraction to David?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65214072-a-traitor-in-whitehall?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=SXYBqa9zET&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A TRAITOR IN WHITEHALL (Evelyn Redfern Book #1) by Julia Kelly is the engaging first book in a new historical mystery series featuring two new protagonists that I am very excited to follow into future books. Set in Winston Churchill’s underground war rooms during the beginning of the blitz, the murder mystery is full of twists, intrigue, and historical facts.

Evelyn Redfern loves nothing more than staying in and reading her favorite British authors’ mysteries after having grown up in the center of her parent’s society divorce and scandal. After graduating from school, she is living as normally as possible in London with her best friend and working at a munitions factory until she runs into an old family friend on a night out. Mr. Fletcher has plans for Evelyn if she is willing to accept them.

Evelyn ends up working in the typing pool in Winston Churchill’s war rooms under Whitehall. As she gets used to her new position and the other girls, she discovers one of her co-workers murdered. Evelyn is determined to use her amateur sleuthing skills even as the two detectives warn her off. She crosses path with a Minister’s aide, David Poole, who she soon learns is working to discover the murderer and a leaker of military secrets.

They pool their resources and skills to work at discovering if it is one person or more responsible for selling England’s secrets and if the murderer is a part of the conspiracy.

I am interested in WWII history and love mysteries and this book delivers both; interesting facts with a murder mystery which makes me a happy reader. Evelyn is a wonderful protagonist who is intelligent, mature, and not willing to take any prejudice against her sex. David is a good partner in the investigation and is necessary since there are still many places in 1940s England women are not allowed. The mystery plot is intricately woven and moves at an ever-increasing rate with many suspects, red herrings, and twists interspersed throughout. I am really looking forward to future book in this series.

I highly recommend this first mystery book in the Evelyn Redfern series and look forward to many more.

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About the Author

Julia Kelly is the international bestselling author of historical fiction and historical mystery novels about the extraordinary stories of the past. Her books have been translated into 13 languages. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia has called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home. She now lives in London with her husband.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.juliakellywrites.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliakellywrites

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliakellywrites/?hl=en

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/juliakellywrites.bsky.social

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-traitor-in-whitehall-by-julia-kelly

Feature Post and Book Review: Birds of Prey Don’t Sing by Joe Cary

Book Description

Michael Harrier has built his reputation on a system no one else uses. Every contract comes with two targets. One dies. Someone else takes the blame.

It’s worked flawlessly for years.

Until now.

What should be a clean hit starts to unravel. A woman with a violent past pulls him off course. A single mistake threatens to expose everything. And for the first time, Harrier is forced to improvise.

Meanwhile, LAPD homicide sergeant Jordan Becker is hunting a killer he can’t pin down.

But he’s built his career on getting results where others stall out.

The case doesn’t follow any rules. The evidence doesn’t hold. The story keeps shifting. And the deeper Becker digs, the clearer it becomes he’s chasing someone smarter, faster, and always just out of reach.

As Harrier’s world tightens and Becker starts to break through, both men are pulled into a game where every move has consequences—and no one is as untouchable as they think.

Because this time, getting away with murder isn’t the hardest part.

It’s controlling what comes next.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250733055-birds-of-prey-don-t-sing?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=BFezz6Ls20&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BIRDS OF PREY DON’T SING by Joe Cary is engrossing dark thriller featuring an assassin traumatized by his past and living by his own moral code and the damaged detective determined to catch him. This is the author’s debut novel, and it is truly difficult to put down even with some emotionally difficult to read scenes.

The main characters in this novel are Michael Harrier, the assassin who makes the person ordering his service pick one victim to kill and one victim to frame for the murder, Chensea, a woman on the run from her Vegas  bookie ex who has Michael questioning his personal rules, and LAPD homicide detective Jordan Becker who will do anything to get his man which is what has gotten him in trouble before. All three of these characters are fully developed in all their shades of gray and black. Even as you learn more about each, you may feel you want to like them, or excuse something they have done, but there is no white knight in this novel.

The plot and pace of this novel is flawless. The step-by-step investigation is realistic, and each minute flaw made by Michael is a reward to Jordan’s doggedness. The action is intense and there is a lot of blood, so it is not good for the squeamish, but what I expect for a novel of this type. The ending is not what I was expecting and frankly, I am still not sure how I feel about it. I believe it is a conclusion that will be discussed by many every time this book is read.

I highly recommend this dark and gritty assassin thriller!

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About the Author

Joe Cary’s stories have appeared in One Story, XRAY Literary Magazine, BULL, MonkeyBicycle, and elsewhere, and also earned a Special Mention in the 2020 Pushcart Prize Anthology and a Best of the Net nomination. A former Angeleno, he currently lives with his family in Philadelphia, where he fights money laundering, fraud, and other financial crimes. Birds of Prey Don’t Sing is his first novel.

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: A Voice in the Dark by Barbara Nickless

Book Description

When a husband, wife, and son are murdered in their Denver home and the family’s teenage twins vanish, the case draws the attention of FBI profilers Helen Belle and Benedict Hoffman. It triggers more than professional alarm. It mirrors a horrific case they investigated five years ago, when a boy slaughtered his family and went mute after speaking only a handful of haunting words. Among them: Midnight Man.

Then, nearly thirteen hundred miles away, one of the twins is found dead in a snowy Ohio field, and the parallels between the past and present cases grow more disturbing. Identical suicide notes. The same symbolic blood imagery. And a shared obsession with an online fantasy game. Its mastermind is an influencer who manipulates his most vulnerable and alienated players into killing the people they love most.

The Midnight Man is back.

Helen and Benedict must hunt the darkest corners of the internet to find him before someone else falls prey to an insidious evil that, for now, is in total control of the game.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242288924-a-voice-in-the-dark?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OPJXig3HKZ&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A VOICE IN THE DARK (Benedict Hoffman and Helen Belle Book #1) by Barbara Nickless is a chilling crime thriller/FBI police procedural that is very relevant in all current discussions regarding AI, minors’ use of the internet, and the ever-present dangers on the world wide web. This is the start of a new series with two compelling protagonists and a serial killer crime plot that hooked me immediately.

Five years ago, Helen Belle and Benedict Hoffman had their belief in an outside influence and assistance from the Midnight Man in the slaughter by a boy of his entire family discredited in court. Helen goes on with her work at the FBI and Benedict walks out of his life and job. A detective from the old case is faced with a similar case as well as the kidnapping of the twin of the believed perpetrator and alerts FBI agent Helen Belle.

From almost identical suicide notes to a shared obsession with an on-line multi-player fantasy game, Helen believes the Midnight Man is back and reaches out to now Professor Benedict Hoffman for assistance. They put their personal past aside and work together to unravel hidden identities and motives as they realize they are racing the clock to rescue the missing twin and stop the Midnight Man before someone else is led to murder.

I was pulled into this story immediately and terrified by the possible reality of the crime plot. Ms. Nickless does a good job of not preaching that the internet is all bad and all gamers are going to become killers, but the gray of the situations and discusses the type of adolescents that can be influenced. The crimes are horrific but could also be ripped right out of the current news. Helen and Benedict are interesting protagonists with not only a somewhat unique outlook on humanist psychology on the study of crime, but with interesting backstories, also. This is a couple I will look forward to following in their future investigations.

I highly recommend this first book in this compelling crime thriller series!

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About the Author

Barbara Nickless is the award-winning, WSJ and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of nine novels; her first and third series have been optioned for film. A teacher and activist, she teaches combat veterans and civilians in the U.S. and Ukraine. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association, the World Affairs Council and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. A former fencer and falconer, Barbara lives in Colorado where she loves to hike, cave, snowshoe, and drink single malt Scotch.

Social Media Links

Website: https://barbaranickless.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbarannickless

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbara.nickless/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-voice-in-the-dark-benedict-hoffman-and-helen-belle-book-1-by-barbara-nickless