Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for FIRE ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #13) by Stewart Giles on this Books ‘n’ All Promotions book tour.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
Book Blurb
In the evening of the 4th of July 2019 four dozen drones descend on Guernsey, and the peaceful island is ablaze in minutes. 48 individual bombs have caused destruction in all four corners of the island.
Detective Inspector Liam O’Reilly takes this extremely personally. He was enjoying his honeymoon in the far north of the island at the time.
As the fire on the island continues to burn, O’Reilly can’t sit back and wait for it to die down. He needs answers to why this happened on the island he now calls home.
But the truth is going to take him to hell and back.
The fire on the island is only the start: this is a case that O’Reilly may never recover from.
FIRE ON THE ISLAND (DC Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #13) by Stewart Giles is another engaging and exciting addition to the DC Liam O’Reilly Mysteries series. This series never fails to keep me glued to the page from start to finish. Each book can be read as a standalone because the crimes mysteries are all unique, but I love watching characters reveal traits and quirks, and grow in their relationships, so I prefer reading the books in order.
DI Liam O’Reilly is enjoying his honeymoon when they are interrupted by a call. Several dozen drones have encircled the island and dropped bombs along the entire coast. As the smoke and fires are being taken care of, Liam is told four people have lost their lives. The Guernsey Border Agency has received a call that this is an attack from an Albanian terrorist group that plans to destroy even more if a ransom is not paid, but Liam does not believe it is terrorists at all.
Liam and his team discover the drones have come from the neighboring island of Herm, while the GBA agents look the other way. Liam is determined to discover what the four murdered victims have in common and why they were killed, while also looking forward to once again proving the GBA wrong.
This police procedural/murder mystery surprised me with the conclusion, and I love when that happens. Mr. Giles effortlessly intertwines new-to-me information on subjects that I did not know would fascinate me, plot twists and surprises, and main character developments that pull me in and keep me turning the pages. I love Liam and it seems to me he is becoming a bit less irascible, at least with those he cares about. Every one of the main characters is like a friend now and I love to catch up with them in each book.
This is one of my favorite DC mystery series and I highly recommend this police procedural/crime mystery, the entire series, and this author.
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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.
UNSUB (An UNSUB Novel Book #1) by Meg Gardiner is the gripping first book in this crime thriller series that I am late to the party reading, but better late than never. This story introduces readers to the series protagonist, Caitlin Hendrix as a detective, before she joins the FBI’s Behavioral Unit.
In the 1990’s, the San Francisco Bay area was terrorized by a serial killer known as the Prophet. Caitlin’s father was the lead investigator on the case, and it destroyed his mental health and marriage. Caitlin still has nightmares from that time but has grown to be an investigator like her father.
Now, twenty years later, the Prophet has returned and is determined to begin again where he left off and he is excited to pull Caitlin into the case, to destroy her as he did her father. This is Caitlin’s first major case, and she is determined to decipher the Prophet’s twisted poems and messages and stop the carnage. While her father and mother warn her away from this case, Caitlin believes she can stop the killer and avoid the mistakes her father made, but can she catch the Prophet before he destroys her?
This is an edge-of-your-seat, cat and mouse thriller that I could not put down, even when the descriptions of the Prophet’s kills were quite graphic. Caitlin is a complex protagonist with a background that is revealed with flashback personal information placed throughout the story. The Prophet is vicious and determined. Each encounter ramped up my anxiety and dread. Be aware, this is a serial killer thriller, so the violence is up front and in your face. All the secondary characters are believable, and you never know who will live to the end. The climax is savage and answered many questions but left a thread to follow into the next book as well as moving Caitlin to the FBI.
I highly recommend this serial killer crime thriller and cannot wait to dive into book two, Into the Black Nowhere.
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About the Author
Meg Gardiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seventeen thrillers. Her latest is Shadowheart, featuring FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix. The Real Book Spy calls it “A mind-trip of a story.” Booklist says, “As always, the writing is exquisite and the story is perfectly crafted.” UNSUB, the first novel in the series, won the 2018 Barry Award for Best Thriller. The Dark Corners of the Night was bought by Amazon Studios for development as an hour-long television drama.
Her previous novel, Heat 2, is a prequel/sequel to the film Heat, co-authored with the film’s writer/director, Michael Mann. It debuted at #1 on the NYT best seller list.
Meg is the author of the Evan Delaney series, the Jo Beckett novels, and several stand alones. China Lake won the 2009 Edgar award for Best Paperback Original. The Nightmare Thief won the 2012 Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense audiobook of the year. Phantom Instinct was one of O, the Oprah magazine’s “Best Books of Summer.”
A graduate of Stanford Law School in California, Meg practiced law in Los Angeles and taught writing at the University of California Santa Barbara. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Cowboy Max Romero is a married man—even if he hasn’t seen his bride since their impulsive Reno wedding. When the seriously sexy Brit Phoebe Creighton-Smith suddenly shows up in his life again, the last thing he expects is a request to play man-and-wife in front of her family. But it sounds like a challenge to the mischievous Max, who offers Phoebe one in return—give up proper English etiquette for riding the range like a real rancher’s woman.
Phoebe is willing to rope a stallion, if it means she can convince her grandmother to release the trust fund she’s entitled to after marriage. She’ll just have to pretend that her deliciously brawny “husband” isn’t tempting her to total abandon every minute of every day—and night. But just when the heat between them crackles into a blaze, Phoebe’s snobby clan forces Max to make a choice, he knows he’ll risk everything to convince her that with them, true love is a sure thing . . .
THREE COWBOYS AND A BRIDE (Three Cowboys Book #3) by Kate Pearce is the third book in the Three Cowboys trilogy of cowboy contemporary romances and Max’s story which I have been waiting for and I believe my favorite of the three. While this book can be read as a standalone, I read them in order to follow all three of the cowboys’ romances because the main characters live together, and all appear in each book.
Cowboy Max Romero has never felt he deserved a permanent home, and he has an unfiltered mouth which gets him in trouble often, even with his friends. When he takes off a without notice from the ranch after a disagreement with Luke and Noah, they are surprised when he returns a few months later with a bride in tow that no one knew anything about.
Phoebe Creighton-Smith has tracked down the man she married in Reno. Four years ago, she conceived a marriage of convenience to Max to solve a problem with her inheritance back in England and then they parted ways. Now she is back requesting Max to play her husband at her sister’s wedding. Max agrees, but only if Phoebe will play a real rancher’s wife until they need to leave.
While playing husband and wife, Max and Phoebe discover an explosive chemistry between them, but these two have a few secrets to clear up. When Phoebe’s brother manipulates them to part, will Max risk it all for the woman he loves?
I loved Max and Phoebe. I really had no idea how Max would find the one for him after his problems in the first two books of the trilogy, but they were perfect for each other. There was a large communication gap between them, and it was slowly settled throughout the story and ended with the HEA I wished for. The sex scenes were smokin’ hot and steamy, but not gratuitous. I also always enjoy catching up on the lives of the other main couples and secondary characters. This is an entertaining and sexy romance with a great cast of characters.
I highly recommend this entire trilogy and I will definitely be checking out more of this author’s books.
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Author Bio
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kate Pearce was born in England in the middle of a large family of girls and quickly found that her imagination was far more interesting than real life. After acquiring a degree in history and barely escaping from the British Civil Service alive, she moved to California and then to Hawaii with her kids and her husband and set about reinventing herself as a romance writer.
She is known for both her unconventional heroes and her joy at subverting romance clichés. In her spare time she self publishes science fiction erotic romance, historical romance, and whatever else she can imagine.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SLY AS A FOX (The Sylvia Wilson Mysteries Book #2) by Wendy Koenig on this AME Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Sylvia Wilson’s brother, Aaron, is working with a joint bank robbery task force. When he goes missing, she joins forces with the FBI to search for him.
But nothing is what it seems.
With very little time left, Sylvia will burn Heaven to the ground to find her missing brother and bring him back alive. FBI, be damned.
SLY AS A FOX (The Sylvia Wilson Mysteries Book #2) by Wendy Koenig is a fast-paced, action-adventure mystery/thriller with a wise beyond her years, Krav Maga fighting, female protagonist who is a bartender/bar owner. While this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, but to get more character background and action try out the first book, On the Sly, which I also recommend.
Sylvia Wilson is still procrastinating on her decisions for the rebuild of her bar after an arson fire destroyed it, getting back to her Krav Maga lessons, and dealing with nightmares and panic attacks after her run in with a killer in book one. Attempting to deal with all these personal problems, she is then notified of the disappearance of her police officer brother who has gone missing on an undercover operation for the FBI.
Sylvia will do anything, even go against the FBI agents who do not appear to be helping, to find her brother and bring him back alive.
This is an edge-of-your-seat mystery/thriller with plenty of misdirection, lies, and action. Sylvia is a complex character with a deep love of family, friends, and difficult animals, but also deeply scarred by the death of her parents for which she feels partially responsible. She is only 22 years old in the books, but very street wise and worldly from working in bars before she was legal. Because of her law enforcement father, she and her brother grew up playing games that ultimately help them in the present such as her knowledge of guns, her black belt in Judo and her current study of Krav Maga. The mystery plot in this book was well paced and interesting as Sylvia looks for her brother and then with his help looks for a mole in the FBI. The ending was not completely what I was expecting, but I liked it.
I recommend this exciting action-adventure mystery thriller and I am looking forward to Sylvia’s next adventure.
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About the Author
Wendy is a published author living in New Brunswick, Canada, with her husband, Vince, and two cats named after the Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood. Her first piece to be printed was a short children’s fiction, Jet’s Stormy Adventure, serialized in The Illinois Horse Network. She attended University of Iowa, honing her craft in their famed summer workshops and writing programs. Since that time, she has published and co-authored numerous books. Several of her manuscripts and short stories have won international awards and have appeared in multiple venues.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review of MIA by John Lansing 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, the author’s social media links and a Kingsumo giveaway. Good luck on the giveaway and enjoy!
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Book Description
Mia, is the origin story of retired inspector Jack Bertolino as a young undercover, NYPD narco-busting detective and his relationship with Mia, his confidential informant.
Mia, a former Miss Colombia, has the kind of beauty that can make a grown man contemplate leaving his wife, his job, and his kids. She’s a complex character, with a painful backstory, who signs on with Jack to help him infiltrate, and take down, a heavy hitter in the Colombian drug trade. Mia has ice water in her veins and is already responsible for delivering large amounts of cocaine, and millions of the cartels cash into the government’s coffers.
This is Jack and Mia’s story. How Mia became a confidential informant, her evolving relationship with Jack, and how the life and death case they break wide open becomes the prequel to The Devil’s Necktie.
Genre: Crime Thriller Published by: White Street Press/ Karen Hunter Publishing Publication Date: June 4th, 2024 Number of Pages: 252 ISBN: 979-8-89456-000-7 (Print) | 979-8-89456-899-7 (Digital) Series: The Jack Bertolino Series, Prequel
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
MIA by John Lansing is the action-packed origin story for the Jack Bertolino action/thriller series. This is the first book I have read in this series, and I am happy it was this one. Not only is this story an exciting thriller, but I cannot wait to continue with more books in the series now. I will be going into book one, The Devil’s Necktie, with even more knowledge of the main protagonist’s history.
NYPD detective Jack Bertolino heads up a special narcotics task force working to shut down all Columbian drug cartel cocaine from reaching the streets of NY and Miami. During this operation, Jack is introduced to the beautiful ex-Miss Columbia, Mia, who will be their confidential informant. Mia will do anything to bring down the Columbian cartel that has emotionally and physically harmed her in the past. The operation goes well, and Jack and Mia go their separate ways, but Jack has promised Mia to always protect her if she needs it.
Five years later, Mia is in danger and reaches out to Jack for help and when Jack makes a promise, he delivers.
This is an exciting, action-packed thriller that moves at a fast pace throughout. This story had me on the edge of my seat with the escalating tension of Mia being undercover and the violence of the cartel members. The law enforcement procedural plotline is well paced and interesting. Jack is a protagonist with a strict set of morals and while he is a workaholic, he still believes in family and loves his wife and son. The ending of this series prequel is sad and disturbing, but leaves you wanting to grab the first book in the series right away.
I highly recommend this prequel to the Jack Bertolino thriller series, and it is a great way to start the entire series which I will be doing.
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Excerpt
Jack Bertolino’s early morning shower gave up the ghost long before he swiped his long-term pass to gain entry to the Staten Island Ferry. Once he landed in the City, he headed for Tango 23’s base of operations. There he picked up his NYPD plain-wrap sedan. The ninety-degree temperature, wetted by ninety-five degree humidity, made a mockery of the air conditioner in the Ford Crown Vic as it crawled through commuter traffic headed for LaGuardia. The air was thick, the stench of exhaust on the Grand Central Parkway overwhelmed as Jack dodged a pothole, rattled into the airport parking lot and came to an engine-clicking stop next to DEA agent Kenny Ortega’s government issue.
The joint narcotics task force case was in its sixth month. Jack had agreed to meet a few old friends and a new confidential informant who had arrived from Miami via Colombia. This CI claimed to be able to provide entry into the inner workings of Manuel Alvarez’s illicit drug operation.
Alvarez, a notorious Colombian trafficker, had been on Jack’s radar for more than a year. Alvarez was responsible for importing a thousand keys of cocaine into Miami on a monthly basis, and the poison
was dripping into New York City. Jack wanted Alvarez’s head on a pike.
At thirty-eight, Jack was already a lieutenant, the boss of the narco-rangers called Tango 23. His crew had great success shutting down drug and money-laundering cells in the five boroughs, piling millions of dollars of the cartel’s money into the city’s coffers.
Jack was a handsome, unpretentious man with thick dark hair he wore brushed back. Creases on his striking face were a roadmap of years exposed to the elements doing undercover narcotics work on the streets of New York City.
As he stepped out of the car, a hot gust of wind blew grit into Jack’s eyes and mouth. It also blasted the long hair of a young woman exiting the passenger side of Ortega’s vehicle, obscuring her face. The deafening sound of a wide-body jet thundered overhead as Jack spit and wiped his stinging eyes.
The woman hand-combed strands of blonde away from her face. When Jack’s vision cleared, he was momentarily stopped in his tracks. The woman was drop-dead gorgeous.
He nodded to Sal Traina, a member of the Tango group, and shook the hand of Mia Ferrero as Ortega made the introductions. Mia, an ex-Miss Colombia, was the confidential informant. Kenny Ortega, the Miami-based DEA agent, was Jack’s partner on the drug task force.
Nick Aprea, a detective from the LAPD narcotics division, had flown in from Los Angeles, where a large quantity of the illicit drugs ended up. He ducked low as he slid out of the back seat, wearing a black leather jacket in the New York heat, and led with a wolfish grin as he proffered a hand the size of a baseball glove. “Jack, good to be back in business.” Aprea was tall, hard, and took life as it came. He had arrived with serious skin in the game. A few years back, his partner had been gut-shot in an Alvarez–Delgado operation. Nick had put fifteen hundred keys of coke on the table, and his partner had been put in an early grave. When Jack invited him to the party, Nick jumped at the chance to deliver some retribution.
Mia signed on to the joint operation between the NYPD, Miami DEA, and LAPD to infiltrate Manuel Alvarez’s operation and help put away a
heavy hitter for the Colombian cartel. She was a proven commodity, already wealthy from delivering large quantities of cocaine and cash to the United States government’s coffers in their ongoing war on drugs. The Feds had a formula in place for paying informants. The bigger the bust, the larger the payoff. A nice way to fatten your wallet, an easy way to die.
Mia started playing Jack—who had a reputation of being a straight arrow—from the moment she touched down at LaGuardia Airport. She’d been summoned for a meeting downtown, organized to get a feel for the principals, define the case, and plan a strategy.
It was time to roll. Sal was sitting in the passenger seat of Jack’s car when Mia rapped on the window. Sal slid out, and Mia stepped in seconds before Jack pulled out of the lot.
“I hope you don’t mind. It was so crowded in the other car,” she said.
Jack wasn’t thrilled. “It’s okay,” he said, always careful when spending time with a CI. First of all, rules and parameters of the relationship had to be set in place, until the informant was proven trustworthy. Too many things could go wrong. Jack was career building and didn’t need any bullshit slowing him down. He had a line in the sand when dealing with informants, and although he always treated them with respect, sharing his personal life was a nonstarter.
Mia started talking rapid fire. Her English was lightly accented but flawless, and Jack chalked her excited banter to nerves.
“I wasn’t supposed to fly first class, but I used my frequent-flyer miles, and thank God because the plane was full, and I was in the air for so many hours. Should I call you Jack or Mr. Bertolino?”
“Lieutenant works.”
“Oh, very formal. It’s so hot in here,” Mia play-whined, and undid the second button on her blouse as she turned to face Jack. “Are you a by-the-numbers kind of guy?”
“Something like that.”
“I know a lot of Italians in Medellín. Not a formal one in the mix. Very sexy though, Italians in general, don’t you think?”
—
Jack kept his eyes trained on the traffic. “Never given it much thought.”
“Oh, I have. Very much so.”
Jack wasn’t going there. He hoped Mia would lose herself in the approaching view of the New York skyline and stop talking. Instead, she seemed content to stare at Jack who was growing increasingly uncomfortable, but didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with a woman who could break his case wide open.
“And the police in general, what do they call it? Mucho testosterone. You can’t hide it, Jack—I mean, Lieutenant.” Mia’s smile was sly, and Jack kept his eyes on the road, not wanting the conversation to get out of hand.
“Your nose,” she said knowingly, “that must have hurt.”
Jack had a bump on his otherwise straight Roman nose. It was a gift from a crack dealer named Trey, who he traded punches with outside the Red Hook projects in Brooklyn. Trey went to jail, and Jack had a reminder every morning when he shaved to keep his right fist higher and jab with his left.
“Do you like sex on the beach?” Jack hoped she was talking about the cocktail and didn’t respond. “What about sex in the car?” Mia said and ran a manicured nail down his thigh. “I love giving blow jobs, I mean, giving oral sex.”
Jack shot a look in the rearview mirror, tried to remain stoic, but he was getting hot under the collar. He was doing sixty and Kenny Ortega’s car was tight on his bumper. Jack glanced in the rearview again, and saw the men in the trailing car laughing.
He’d had enough. He signaled and pulled the wheel hard to the right, sending Mia sliding against the passenger door. As horns around him started blaring, he skidded to a tire-screeching stop on the shoulder of the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway. He was followed by Ortega, Nick, and a few other smirking detectives in the second car.
Jack knew he’d been set up. He picked up the radio and raised Ortega. “Get this woman out of my car.”
Mia feigned being hurt. “Is it something I said?” Over the intercom, Ortega and his crew were howling. Mia jumped out of Jack’s car, her
face split into a sultry grin, and she winked. “Just having some fun, Lieutenant.”
Jack was the only one on the crew not laughing. He pulled back into traffic, riding solo, and dialed his home number.
Jeanine answered on the second ring. “Are you all right, Jack?”
“Huh?”
“An afternoon call. It’s usually bad news.”
“Oh, no, not today. Just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Hmmm, okay… Good.” Jeannine could read Jack’s mood and wasn’t buying it.
Jack started to relax, the earth rotating back on its axis. “Actually, I just made a pickup at LaGuardia, had a moment.”
“Okay. Are you going to make it home for dinner?”
“Don’t wait on me. We have a TAC meeting, breaking in a new informant. You know how that goes.”
Jeannine knew all too well what that meant. And Jack was hit with the familiar chill on the other end of the line. “Okay, Jack. Your son’s asking what happened to his father.”
“Tell him I miss him.”
“Tell him yourself, Jack,” Jeannine said quietly before hanging up the phone.
Jack stifled his growing anger, fully aware that he was an absentee father. From his point of view, he was building a secure life for his family, and they all had to make sacrifices. It was a team effort. He knew he was being defensive, but he also knew what it took to rise through the ranks of the NYPD.
Jack snapped out of it when Kenny beeped his horn and rocketed past in the fast lane. He rolled his eyes, slightly amused as Mia, sitting in the back seat, nailed him with a look that was purely X-rated.
Excerpt from MIA by John Lansing. Copyright 2024 by John Lansing. Reproduced with permission from John Lansing. All rights reserved.
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Author Bio
John Lansing is the author of six thrillers featuring Jack Bertolino—The Devil’s Necktie, Blond Cargo, Dead Is Dead, The Fourth Gunman, 25 to Life, and MIA—as well as the true-crime non-fiction book Good Cop Bad Money, written with former NYPD Inspector Glen Morisano. He has been a writer and supervising producer on Walker, Texas Ranger, the co-executive producer of the ABC series Scoundrels, and co-wrote two MOWs for CBS. The Devil’s Necktie is in development at Andria Litto’s Amuse Entertainment, with Barbara DeFina attached as a producer.
A native of Long Island, John now resides in Los Angeles.
Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.
A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington…until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.
When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.
As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.
From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of World War II, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.
THE BRITISH BOOKSELLERS by Kristy Cambron is an epic historical fiction that follows a tenant farmer to bookseller and an earl’s daughter from their innocent childhood friendship and dreams to adulthood with social restrictions and class boundaries. This is a standalone novel spanning 1910 through 1940 in dual timelines that intertwine seamlessly throughout.
The 1910 timeline is the past in this story and introduces a young tenant farmer, Amos Darby and his unlikely friendship with Charlotte Terrington, the earl’s daughter. They share a love of literature and dream of owning a bookstore. When Charlotte is engaged to the Earl of Harcourt, Amos knows his dreams are just that, dreams. He goes off to fight in the trenches of France during WWI and comes back a man troubled not only with his nightmares of the front, but also a secret he keeps from Charlotte about her husband who was killed in action.
The 1940 timeline has Chalotte and her daughter, Eden struggling to keep up the estate and their bookshop which is right across the lane in Coventry and in competition Amos’ bookshop. When an American lawyer shows up threatening the estate, Eden is determined to fight with everything she has to preserve her father’s legacy. As the German blitz on England begins Charlotte and Amos put their differences aside and work together and aid their neighbors as they can. All their lives are on the line as the German Luftwaffe plans their largest blitz to date on Coventry.
This book covers so many situations and emotions. Changing times not only between the classes, but also in the liberation of women are intertwined with the horrors of not one, but two World Wars and the loss of life both at home and away. Amos and Charlotte’s love story is heartbreaking as well as triumphant and beautifully written. Eden’s sub-plot romance displays the generational differences and changes. The terrible Coventry blitz, land girls, and battle fatigue (which we now know as PTSD) are all pieces of history in this story of love, loss, survival and triumph in two bleak times in English history.
I highly recommend this dual timeline historical fiction saga.
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About the Author
KRISTY CAMBRON is a vintage-inspired storyteller writing from the space where beauty, art, and history intersect. She’s a Christy Award-winning author of historical fiction, including her bestselling novels, THE BUTTERFLY AND THE VIOLIN and THE PARIS DRESSMAKER, as well as nonfiction titles. She also serves as Vice President and literary agent with Gardner Literary.
Her work has been named to Cosmopolitan Best Historical Fiction Novels, Publishers Weekly Religion & Spirituality TOP 10, Library Journal’s Best Books, and she received a Christy Award for her novel THE PAINTED CASTLE. Her work has been featured at Once Upon a Book Club Box, Frolic, Book Club Girl, BookBub, Country Woman magazine, and (in)Courage.
Kristy holds a degree in art history/research writing and spent fifteen years in education and leadership development for a Fortune 100 corporation, partnering with such companies as the Disney Institute, IBM/Kenexa, and Gallup before stepping away to pursue her passion for storytelling. Kristy lives in Indiana with her husband and three basketball-loving sons, where she can probably be bribed with a peppermint mocha latte and a good read.
