Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE IRISH DAUGHTER (Emerald Isles Book #4) by Daisy O’Shea on this Bookoututre Books-On-Tour blog tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Standing on the cliff above the wild Irish sea, Hannah wipes a tear from her eye and thinks about the man she called ‘Da’. She was never his daughter. Hannah has been lied to her whole life by everyone she loved. Will she ever find where she truly belongs?
When warm-hearted Hannah Barry’s father passes away, her life is turned upside down when she discovers he wasn’t her biological father, and the only family she’s ever known are not related to her at all. Now their tiny farmhouse overlooking Roone Bay feels unfamiliar and cold. So when a handsome, dark-haired stranger turns up on her doorstep, his kind eyes and shy smile are a welcome escape.
Justin Sanders is searching for clues about his long-lost grandfather, whose last letter home came addressed from the area. Justin is certain Hannah’s own grandfather is connected to the story somehow, and that the men knew each other years ago. Hannah can’t help but be drawn to Justin and his mystery – they both have a painful past to solve. Will helping Justin lead to the answers about her real family that she desperately longs for?
But Hannah is shocked when nobody in the village will speak of Justin’s grandad. What secret could be so terrible that a whole community turns their back?
Justin’s caring nature makes Hannah feel so safe, and she can’t ignore the way he makes her stomach flip. But when they discover the truth about the events of a tragic evening decades ago, it threatens to tear them apart for good… Can Hannah and Justin find a way to forgive and move forward together? Or will Hannah lose the only real love she’s ever known for good?
THE IRISH DAUGHTER (Emerald Isles Book #4) by Daisy O’Shea is an emotional dual timeline mash-up of romance, mystery, and history that pulled me into the story and kept me turning the pages. This book is easily read as a standalone with a few carryover secondary characters, but the real connection between the stories is that they are all set in Roone Bay, Ireland on the southern coast.
Hannah Barry has dutifully taken care of her alcoholic and dismissive father until his death as she promised her mam on her death bed believing she would inherit their hard-scrabble farm. While the home and farm are not worth much it has been her home since she returned from the hospital at three years of age after recovering from polio. Then her brother returns from America with a will to claim it all.
Justin Sanders is an English doctor who has come to Roone Bay to find where his granddad, Jack, who was stationed there as a Black and Tan in 1920, was buried during the Troubles. Hannah is surprised that no one is willing to talk, so she offers to help.
They work together as both have family secrets and history to be uncovered.
This is an enchanting story of family, love, forgiveness, and discovery. The tissues came out at a time or two. Hannah was such a strong protagonist and Justin was the perfect hero for her. The historical dual timeline tells Jack, Justin’s granddad’s story, in 1920 while he was in Roone Bay and the present-day timeline with Hannah and Justin is set in their present day, but our late 1960’s. The author’s story telling and descriptions made me feel as if I was experiencing each timeline right along with each character.
I have read all the Emerald Isles books, and they are all moving and engrossing. I highly recommend this one, also!
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Author Bio
Sue Lewando was a teacher for several years before migrating to the office environment, where she was PA to the Treasurer of Clarks Shoes, a multi-national company, then, briefly, PA to Susan George, the actress best known for Straw Dogs. Sue had many genre books published (M&B and Virgin), under pseudonyms, and self-publishes her crime thrillers. She was on the committee of the Romantic Novelists’ Association in England, for whom she assessed typescripts. She has been a fiction tutor for the London School of Journalism for twenty years. She has two grown-up children, a happy second marriage, and a bundle of cats and dogs. She moved to West Cork with her husband to undertake a farmhouse refurbishment project, foster their joint passion for playing Irish traditional music, and to invest time in their individual academic projects. She recently completed a Masters in Creative Writing at UCC, taking the opportunity to explore diverse writing genres. She works with the Jeremy Murphy Literary Consultancy in the capacity of typescript analyst, ghostwriter, editor, and online publishing advisor. She loves good commercial fiction, and is a devotee of the Oxford comma.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for FURY ON THE ISLAND by Stewart Giles on this Book ‘n’ All Promotions Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
The midsummer madness that hit Guernsey with a vengeance has abated, but if Detective Inspector Liam O’Reilly thought he could relax he’s sorely mistaken. A fury like no other is about to take hold of the island, and O’Reilly is going to be thrown headfirst right into the middle of it.
The murder of a teenager at a party on the beach is just the beginning. Things on the island are about to get much worse.
A gang of masked phantoms on mountain bikes are hell bent on terrorizing the people of Guernsey. They strike without warning, and with a fury like no other. And O’Reilly cannot figure out why they’re doing it. They attack with precision, and the brutality on display is like nothing the Irishman has ever seen before.
The fury on the island spreads far and wide as the residents gather to take the law into their own hands. The Island Police aren’t doing enough, and O’Reilly faces a war on two fronts.
How do you stop a fury when you have no idea what lies behind it? This is going to be O’Reilly’s bloodiest investigation yet.
FURY ON THE ISLAND (Detective Liam O’Reilly Book #15) by Stewart Giles is a new case of murder and mayhem for my favorite team of detectives on Guernsey Island. This story once again has DI Liam O’Reilly working with his team on a difficult murder investigation, dealing with a new temporary superintendent, and bringing the reader up to date with family and regulars on the island. One of my favorite mystery/police procedural series with a unique protagonist and the unique setting of Guernsey Island.
A gang of masked riders on mountain bikes viciously murder a teenager when he walks away from beach party. O’Reilly and his team are shocked at the fury of the attack. When more victims are attacked in the same way, the people of the island are scared and about to take the law into their own hands. There seems to be no connection or motive between those killed and injured that O’Reilly and his team can find.
With the masked riders leaving no clues or evidence, O’Reilly and his team face an island population on the brink and they are desperate for answers.
This was a different type of murder case in this series with the lack of evidence, it was less of a procedural until almost the resolution, and it still was not evidence O’Reilly could use in court. The current murder mystery reader or crime junkie wants physical evidence and DNA, but that is not always how a case is resolved. Tips, interrogations, and confessions, I believe, resolve cases more than we know. The inclusion of the temporary superintendent storyline, for me was just a space filler, although it did show O’Reilly’s care for an old colleague. I enjoyed catching up with all of O’Reilly’s police colleagues, family, and friends once again. As always, I will be anxiously waiting for the next book in this series.
I highly recommend this addition to the Detective Liam O’Reilly mystery/police procedural series.
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Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow. I also have another series featuring an Irish detective who relocated to Guernsey, the Detective Liam O’Reilly series. There are also 3 stand alone novels.
Book 1 – Blood on the Island Book 2 – Lies on the Island Book 3 – Fear on the Island Book 4 – Malice on the Island Book 5 – Revenge on the Island Book 6 – Christmas on the Island Book 7 – Silence on the Island Book 8 – Secrets on the Island Book 9 – Chaos on the Island Book 10 – Sadness on the Island Book 11 – Danger on the Island Book 12 – Evil on the Island Book 13 – Fire on the Island Book 14 – Madness on the Island Book 15 – Fury on the Island
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.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE ORGAN BROKER by Deven Greene on this Partners-In-Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Kingsumo giveaway. Good luck on the giveaway and enjoy!
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Book Description
A devoted wife and mother faces the unimaginable as her life crumbles.
Crystal Rigler seems to have a perfect marriage. Derek, her handsome and charismatic husband, and their adult daughter, Cordelia, are her whole world. In addition to her already busy life, Crystal supports the volunteer organization she and Derek started: STOP (Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners).
STOP aims to end a new government policy of harvesting organs from executed prisoners. They learn that these organs are not distributed by the national transplant list, established to allocate organs fairly. Instead, a shadowy figure known as Broker Al pulls the strings. He expedites the execution of young and healthy prisoners and sells their organs at a high price to the rich and well-connected.
After Crystal learns a disturbing secret, events are set in motion that will potentially dismantle STOP, change her life, and cost her everything. Unless she is willing to do the unthinkable.
Genre: Psychological Suspense Published by: Panthera Publishing Publication Date: April 2025 Number of Pages: 321 ISBN: 9781964620060 (ISBN10: 1964620066)
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE ORGAN BROKER by Deven Greene is a dark thriller which poses many ethical questions surrounding the morality of organ donation from death row prisoners. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books that the readers either love or hate.
Crystal and Derek Rigler are a married couple with a grown daughter, Callie. They run the local office of a volunteer organization called STOP (Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners). Crystal does a lot of the work and writes all of Derek speeches, but Derek gets most of the attention due to his looks and magnetic personality. An investigative journalist, who helps with STOP, gets insider information about corruption in the distribution of the transplant organs from prisoners facilitated by a shadowy figure called Broker Al.
When Callie comes home from college ill and needs a liver transplant, this sets into motion very personal decisions and moral dilemmas that will change all their lives.
The questions are intriguing and made me interested in reading this book and I was not surprised by the morally bankrupt, money hungry evil antagonists but what I was not expecting was the main characters to be unlikable, also. Derek is a narcissist, and I did not like him from the start, so I was hoping Crystal would be a strong female character to balance his character out, but no, while not evil, I had difficulty with many of her decisions. Usually, this would put me off the book, but the author writes them into so many thought-provoking situations that I could not put it down. I do think the story has too much devoted to their marriage and its problems in the beginning of the book that could have been edited out.
The moral questions surrounding who gets donated organs and in what order have always interested me. You hear about corruption, but supposedly the system is set up for it not to happen, but this author takes you down the rabbit hole of “what if?” There are plenty of plot twists and surprises that do lead to a satisfactory ending even with the slower start.
I recommend this dark thriller for its ability to keep me engrossed with its intriguing concept.
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Excerpt
Chapter 1
The East Texas sun was hotter than usual for September, the few clouds high above providing no relief. A half-hour earlier, overcome by heat and exhaustion, Crystal had let her sign reading “Save Kwami” slip to the ground. Standing near the front of the crowd, Crystal pushed up the visor on her baseball cap to get a better look at her surroundings. She was pleased with the impressive turnout which she estimated to be close to one thousand people. It was the largest they’d ever had. Most of the other protestors continue to hold their placards high, displaying myriad slogans such as “Justice for Kwami,” “Let Kwami Live,” “Impeach Gov. Percy,” and the most popular, “STOP.” She took a deep breath and lifted her sign again, fighting the pain in her fingers as she held it as high as she could.
The crowd of protestors was comprised of a cross-section of the community— young, old, couples, families, Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian. A colorful array of baseball caps, bucket hats, visors, straw hats, and cowboy hats protected most of the heads from the constant flood of the sun’s rays.
The makeshift podium and public address system were rudimentary, and there was the usual milling around often seen in large gatherings, but the audience, for the most part, was paying attention to the pudgy young man with a man bun speaking to them. At times, the crowd burst out in synchronous claps and hoots of approval. The assembly was peaceful, with only a few skirmishes breaking out at the edges where police stood watch.
Still thirsty after having finished her bottle of water, Crystal let her mind wander as the speaker droned on about the immorality of what was about to take place. Her clothes clung to her sweaty body, and despite wearing sunglasses with polarized lenses, the bright sun hurt her eyes. Looking down, she swatted away a bug that landed on her arm. Uncomfortable and impatient, she was eagerly awaiting the next speaker.
Finally, the man at the podium looked up and announced, “And now, the man you’ve all been waiting to hear, the leader of our organization, Mr. Derek Rigler.”
The mood of the crowd changed, and participants started chanting “STOP” in unison as they raised and lowered their signs. A tall, muscular man with tan skin and wavy blond hair, took to the stage next to the previous speaker and scanned the crowd with his magnetic blue eyes. Crystal looked up and smiled. His handsome, chiseled features gave him the look of a confident leader. Although he was nearly fifty years old, he looked at least ten years younger. He hasn’t lost the ability to attract attention whenever he enters a room.
Derek took his place on the podium and held out his arms as if to give a benediction. After almost a full minute of roaring applause, he raised and lowered his hands several times to quiet the crowd.
Crystal looked around, energized by the enthusiasm bubbling over. She noted more press vans set up around the perimeter than in the previous protest. Their organization, STOP, was gaining traction.
She wondered if Derek had picked her out of the crowd. If she were taller, he’d probably see her—she wasn’t far from the front—but she imagined her five-foot two-inch frame made her visage difficult to identify in the sea of people. From what she could glean, Derek hadn’t spotted her. After all, she was just another brunette under a baseball cap, surrounded by many others. Even so, Crystal smiled widely, wondering if anyone nearby recognized her. After all, she was notable as Derek’s wife and the mother of his child, Cordelia.
As Derek started his familiar diatribe against the Texas death penalty laws, Crystal tried to lock eyes with him, but his eyes never found her. Instead, he focused on members of the audience near and far, concentrating his gaze on one person for several seconds before moving on to the next pair of waiting eyes.
Crystal recognized the usual arguments against the event that was scheduled to take place momentarily—the uneven death penalty sentencing, the ugliness of exacting revenge, and the irreversibility of the punishment once meted out. The speech was powerful, and she agreed with everything Derek said. She could recite the words by heart, not only because she had heard them during Derek’s practice sessions, but because she had written them herself. Every time the crowd reacted with hollers and claps, she felt taller, each breath a bit more satisfying. She’d been to over six of these rallies in the past year, each protesting the execution of a prisoner found guilty of a crime deemed fitting for capital punishment.
The death penalty had never sat well with Crystal, but over the past two years, the practice had escalated, with four more executions scheduled over the next six months in Texas alone. Not only was the ultimate punishment meted out more often, but the evidence leading to convictions was frequently less convincing. She’d made up her mind to do something to stop the injustice and had established STOP almost a year earlier. A small, grass-roots collection of like-minded people, it was taking hold, thanks to her speech writing, community outreach, and organizational skills, bolstered by her husband’s charisma. He was the face of the organization.
Derek’s address was interrupted by a loud commotion as the officers stationed around the perimeter began to forcefully clear a path through the protestors to the entryway of the large building looming behind the speaker. Despite shouting and resistance from the crowd, with the most passionate demonstrators being handcuffed and dragged away, the police were able to open a wide berth.
“We are nearing the time,” Derek shouted above the commotion, “the time when our brother Kwami will be taken from us in an act that can only be described as state-sponsored murder. Let all those who have participated in this mockery of justice one day pay for their crimes, and let all those who directly benefit from this violent act realize the wrong they have participated in.”
A police transport moved through the clearing in the crowd as demonstrators chanted “Kwami, Kwami” in unison. Although the windows of the vehicle were covered, all knew who was inside—Kwami McKinney, sentenced to be executed that day. The van didn’t stop until it was a mere five feet from the door to the building. A massive construction of cement and glass six stories high, the structure dwarfed the trees and other buildings nearby. Derek was silent as he turned to watch the Black prisoner, his head shaved, exit the van’s side door.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit accessorized with ankle and wrist shackles, Kwami was escorted by two armed guards, each holding onto one of his arms. Two more prison officers took up the rear. As the party of five walked towards the glass doors of the building, a Black woman around fifty years old ran towards them screaming. She was forcibly stopped by police, who grabbed onto her arms long before she could interfere.
Everyone there knew the woman was Sally McKinney, Kwami’s mother. She yelled and cried hysterically, flailing against those restraining her as her son was led through the automated doors that opened before him and the guards. They disappeared inside the structure as the glass doors shut.
People in the crowd yelled and cried, drowning out Ms. McKinney’s wails. Frustrated tears filled Crystal’s eyes; their protest had done nothing to dissuade the authorities from carrying out their sentence. She hadn’t expected the proceedings to be halted, but held onto a glimmer of hope until now, irrational as it was.
She looked to Derek for comfort, hoping they might finally lock gazes and convey their sadness to each other, but Crystal’s thoughts were interrupted by a female acquaintance. “Fantastic speech,” the woman said.
“I can’t disagree,” Crystal answered, buoyed momentarily by the woman’s words.
“You must be very proud, being his wife. He’s so handsome, and brilliant to boot. You two are the perfect couple. I’d sure like to be a fly on the wall at your dinner table to hear about all his great ideas.”
The words stung slightly, as Crystal chuckled politely. She was accustomed to being thought of as a mere appendage of her charismatic husband, but, she’d tried to convince herself that a successful protest, with Derek delivering a resounding speech, was all that was important. She didn’t need the admiration of others like he did. “Our dinners aren’t as interesting as you might think. Mostly, we talk about how we’re going to pay our bills.”
Members of the press, who until now had been scattered amongst the protestors while taking notes and silently recording videos, were now talking and interviewing people on camera. The crowd thinned, but Crystal didn’t want to leave. She’d have liked to remain until she knew Kwami had taken his last breath, but that moment was hours away.
She listened as a nearby male telecaster spoke into a camera. “Emotions are again high as another execution is about to take place. While many people feel that the crimes Kwami McKinney was convicted of, armed robbery and hostage-taking, justify the death sentence, some feel the punishment is too severe for the crimes the prisoner was convicted of. Still others believe he is innocent of the charges against him.”
The reporter turned to a middle-aged female bystander and asked, “What do you think of today’s events? Do you think justice is being carried out today?” After posing the question, he shoved the microphone close to the woman’s mouth.
“This is a travesty of justice,” she answered. “The real criminal was wearing a ski mask during the robbery, and escaped capture immediately following the crime. That was made clear during the trial. We also learned that Mr. McKinney was picked out in a lineup by two unreliable witnesses days later. There was a boatload of evidence that the so-called witnesses had drug charges against them dropped shortly after identifying Mr. McKinney. What kind of justice is that?”
The telecaster quickly turned to the camera and continued his reporting. “Despite the controversy, Kwami McKinney is still scheduled to be executed here and now at New Lake Hospital. While we are happy for the families of the six unnamed individuals who will be the recipients of much-needed organs, many are questioning the legality and morality of what is now becoming a common method of organ procurement. The objections are being led by the organization STOP, which stands for Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners.”
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Author Bio
Deven Greene lives in Northern California, where she enjoys writing fiction, most of which involves science or medicine. She has degrees in biochemistry (PhD) and medicine (MD), and practiced pathology for over twenty years.
She has previously published the The Erica Rosen MD Trilogy (Unnatural, Unwitting, and Unforeseen), and Ties That Kill, as well as several short stories.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post for THE SECRET DETECTIVE AGENCY (The Secret Detective Agency Book #1) by Helena Dixon on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour bog post.
Below you will find a book description and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Meet Miss Jane Treen – the coffee-drinking cat lover dressed head to toe in tweed, who just happens to be a secret super sleuth!
London, 1941: Miss Jane Treenis at her desk, strong black coffee in hand and fluffy ginger cat by her side, when her top-secret government work is interrupted by an urgent call to Devon. A woman has been found dead in a lake in a place where she shouldn’t have been. Jane needs to gather the clues and find the killer before someone else from the agency gets hurt…Shy and handsome code-breaker Arthur Cilento is bewildered by the arrival of the efficient Miss Treen and her cat Marmaduke. She bursts into his life unexpectedly, forcing him out of his comfort zone. The reluctant colleagues huddle near the warmth of a crackling fire in Arthur’s country home, working to piece together the murderous puzzle at hand.
In the sleepy Devon village,someone is hiding something: but is it the busybody vicar and his sister, the dutiful housekeeper and her secretive son, the stern librarian, or someone else altogether? And who were the people with the woman in the lake on the day she died?
No sooner have Arthur and Jane have drawn up a list of suspects, than a parcel reveals a clue that sends them in hot pursuit of a coded diary stashed in a village church. But as the heavy wooden door slams behind them and a key turns in the lock, one thing is sure: they need to unravel the truth and crack this code before the killer decides their number is up…
But if they can catch the culprit in time, might this unusual pair become the finest crime-solving partnership since Holmes and Watson hung up their hats…?
Helena Dixon is the author of the best-selling Miss Underhay murder mystery series and lives in Devon. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, and a crazy cockapoo. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and housework. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 and Love Story of the Year 2010 as Nell Dixon.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE ENGLISH WIFE by Anna Stuart on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour blog post.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Her husband is trying to save the country, but can she save him?
1940, England: Clementine Churchill stands alone on a rooftop in London as bombs rain down on the city. A nearby explosion almost knocks her off her feet, but she gets back up again and shouts into the night: ‘Hitler will not take Britain; not on my watch.’
Rushing back to 10 Downing Street, Clementine is relieved to see the famous building is still standing despite the heavy bombing. It means the Prime Minister – her husband – is alive. Stepping through the door and into Winston’s arms, she is reassured by his steady heartbeat. Every day has been a fight for survival, with people losing loved ones all around her. She prays that this war will not cost her Winston.
Her husband has always dreamed of being Prime Minister; she knew from the moment they married thirty years ago that he wanted to lead the country. Since then, they’ve been a partnership in love and in politics. But, with the war against Hitler, it’s a much bigger responsibility than either of them ever expected. The world needs Winston, and Winston needs her.
While Winston co-ordinates battles across Europe, Clementine finds herself in the spotlight for the first time. Her husband’s name may be on the lips of every soldier and politician but she knows as she visits hospitals and air raid shelters, that the ordinary people speak her name just as much. She realizes she has the potential to make a difference – not as Winston’s shadow in the background but as Clementine Churchill.
One evening, as she looks into Winston’s dear face, Clementine can tell his bravery comes at a cost. Can she help the man she loves finish the fight for freedom – or will this war cost them everything?
This is a fictional novel inspired by the remarkable life of Clementine Churchill. It is a story of the power of love and courage. It is the story of how a husband and wife saved the world. It is a story like no other…
THE ENGLISH WIFE by Anna Stuart is an engrossing and inspiring historical fiction novel with dual narrators, Clementine Churchill, the wife of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Jenny Miller, a fictional American journalist from the beginning of WWII to V-E Day in England. While featuring the life of Clementine Churchill, the author gives the reader insight into two strong, fascinating women during war.
Clementine Churchill knew what she was getting into when she agreed to marry Winston Churchill. They are a love match and while they have the freedom in their marriage to pursue their personal passions, Clementine always will be by his side to support him, and this is especially evident during England’s darkest hours during WWII.
Jenny and Ned Miller are a young married couple who are journalists sent to England to cover the turmoil in Europe for CBS radio. While Ned’s star is rising, Jenny is only allowed to report on women’s social issues. The two soon become known to the Churchill’s and while Winston is interested in Ned’s ability to aide in war correspondence, Jenny becomes friends with Clementine and the two soon are working together on issues for the English war time population while also dealing with personal issues in their homes.
This is a wonderful look at Clementine’s life, not only as Winston’s wife and soulmate, but as a woman who learns she is stronger and more capable than she believes during these terrible years of war. Jenny and Ned Miller appear to be loosely based on Edward R. Murrow and his wife during their time in England. Clementine and Jenny are friends that emotionally bolster each other through personal difficulties, they demonstrate the differences between American and English sensibilities, and they also discuss and display the differences in their beliefs in the liberation of the women. The historical characters and places throughout the novel are well researched and interesting. In just the short number of years this novel covers, Ms. Stuart takes the reader on an emotional journey that is heart wrenching as well as heartwarming and I found it difficult to put this book down.
I highly recommend this engaging historical fiction novel!
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Author Bio
Anna Stuart lives in Derbyshire with her campervan-mad husband, two hungry teenagers and a slightly loopy dog. She was hooked on books from the moment she first opened one in her cot so is thrilled to now have several of her own to her name. Having studied English literature at Cambridge university, she took an enjoyable temporary trip into the ‘real world’ as a factory planner, before returning to her first love and becoming an author. History has also always fascinated her. Living in an old house with a stone fireplace, she often wonders who sat around it before her and is intrigued by how actively the past is woven into the present, something she likes to explore in her novels. Anna loves the way that writing lets her ‘try on’ so many different lives, but her favourite part of the job is undoubtedly hearing from readers.
