The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah is an absolute tour de force women’s fiction story that gives the reader an immersive look into the lives of military nurses during the Vietnam War and their various struggles on the front and on their return stateside. While the story features three women, the focus is on the coming-of-age story of one young nurse from Southern California.
Frances “Frankie” McGrath has led an idyllic middle class conservative life growing up and running free with her older brother on Coronado Island. Her brother goes to Vietnam after graduating from the Naval Academy, while Frankie is graduated from nursing school, but she wants more. She enlists in the Army Nurse Corps to be overseas with her brother.
Completely unprepared for the chaos, she is trained and helped by both her roommates. Every day brings new horror and terror, but also moments of hope and friendships that will last well past the war. Frankie soon becomes a vital member of the surgical trauma team.
When she returns home, she finds an America in upheaval and a family unable to help her cope or even understand her trauma. Her friends always come to help when called, but Frankie has psychological wounds that must be faced on her own before she can really find peace.
This story elicits every emotion, and I was immersed in every scene from the horrors of war to emotional breakdowns and PTSD to redemption. The research is evident with the major conflicts of the times being as present in the story as the personal reactions of the main characters. Being from a family with many males who have served in every war, it pained me deeply when Frankie had so much trouble being recognized by the VA and other male combat soldiers, unless they had received care from the nurses overseas. I watched this war every night on the news while in junior high and high school and while my family wanted peace, I never hated the soldiers for serving, but I know now that many did, and it only added to their trauma returning home. Ms. Hannah brought these characters to life on the page as well as every location and time period.
I highly recommend this gripping and memorable women’s fiction!
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About the Author
Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her newest novel, The Women, about the nurses who served in the Vietnam war, will be released on February 6, 2024.
The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore’s bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.
In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.
In 2015, The Nightingale became an international blockbuster and was Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.
The Nightingale is currently in pre-production at Tri Star. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.
A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE SICILIAN SECRET by Angela Petch on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour book 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
Italy, 1943. With war raging across the rugged cliffs and turquoise waters of his beloved Sicily, Savio’s pen scrawls desperately across the page. His letter must be sent in secret – or his life will be in terrible danger…
England, present day. Paige is devastated when her reclusive but beloved Aunt Florence dies – the only family she’s ever known. Inheriting her crumbling cottage, Paige finds an unfinished note. ‘I am sorry, Paige. It’s time to tell you everything. It all began in Sicily…’
Beside the note is a faded envelope – addressed to a woman called Joy – with an Italian postage stamp from 1943. The letter inside is made up of Roman numerals and snippets of sentences written in Italian. But who is Joy? Was someone sending a coded message? Paige is desperate to piece together the truth. But she soon discovers it will change everything she’s ever believed about her aunt, and her family history.
1943. Lady Joy Harrison may have grown up in a manor house, but she’s determined to fight for what’s right and use her fluent Italian to help the Allies. Breaking code on a long night shift, Joy reads a secret message that makes her whole body shake. A dark-eyed young man she once loved is in terrible danger on the shores of Sicily. Was the message sent by him? And will she ever see him again – or will the war tear them apart for good?
THE SICILIAN SECRET by Angela Petch is a captivating dual timeline historical fiction with protagonists in both the 1970’s and 1940’s that had me engrossed from beginning to end. This is a new-to-me author, and I will be checking out her back catalogue that I am surprised I have not read before.
In the 1940’s timeline, Lady Joy Harrison is determined to help in the war effort. When she trains for secret service, she meets an unlikely confidant. Savio is British born, but because of his Sicilian parents, they are gathered up and incarcerated. He is now training for service also. They fall in love but are separated without notice. Joy is sent to and works at Bletchley Park and Savio is sent to be a part of the invasion by the allies on Sicily.
In the 1970’s timeline, Paige is devastated when her Aunt Flo, the person who raised her, is killed in a traffic accident. As she is cleaning her aunt’s room, she discovers a box left for her with a mysterious amulet and an unfinished note telling her she has a secret to tell her, but it is unfinished. There is also a cryptic message in some sort of code and post marked from Sicily. After being shocked by what she learns at home in England, she is off to Sicily to hopefully discover more.
I loved this story so much even when I was crying. This author was able to emotionally connect me with all the protagonists in each timeline. I also liked that the plot was written in a way that was not only believable but also plausible. The research is obvious and extensive, from the internment camps on the Isle of Mann to the allied campaign in Sicily. All the plotlines intertwine and seamlessly reveal the plot secrets and heartbreaks. This is a historical fiction story that has everything I enjoy reading in this genre of book and it is beautifully written.
I highly recommend this beautiful and emotional historical fiction story.
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Author Bio
Author bio:
I’m an award winning writer of fiction – and the occasional poem.
Every summer I move to Tuscany for six months where my husband and I own a renovated watermill which we let out. When not exploring our unspoilt corner of the Apennines, I disappear to my writing desk at the top of our converted stable.
In my Italian handbag or hiking rucksack I always make sure to store notebook and pen to jot down ideas.
The winter months are spent in Sussex where most of our family live. When I’m not helping out with grandchildren, I catch up with writer friends.
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Women by Kristin Hannah is yet another home run. It has become obvious for those who have read her books she must own stock in Kleenex because people will go through a tissue box. The novel is split into two parts: During the Vietnam War and after.
The story has a twenty-year-old, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, after finishing nursing school, deciding to serve in Vietnam as an Army nurse. Nothing can prepare Frankie for what awaits in Vietnam, a chaotic and destructive environment.
Her story shows how the friendship grew between three American military nurses serving in Vietnam: Frankie, Barb Johnson, and Ethel Flint, where they became a sisterhood.
These women served and sacrificed so much yet were dismissed and seamlessly forgotten. Vietnam was a dark thorn in American history, but it is also a tragedy the way those who served were treated when they came home. Through Frankie’s eyes readers can take a journey with her, going through bad times and ending with hope.
It is a story about patriotism, friendship, and remembrance. These women who served in Vietnam were not only strong, but also courageous. As Hannah so brilliantly points out they should not have any shame, because it all belongs to Americans who mistreated them.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why write about Vietnam vets now?
Kristin Hannah: I have wanted to write it for quite some time. It has been on my mind for a long while. I wanted to focus on returning from war. I saw this personally when I was a child. I think for a long time Vietnam was a subject people did not want to read about or talk about. I sought to show what life was like in the Vietnam hospitals with its horror, difficulty, and camaraderie. On a book tour I was told by both male and female Vietnam vets and their children how this was an unspoken trauma in their family for over fifty years. If the book helps in some small way this makes me happy.
EC: The female lead, Frankie, a Vietnam vet, seems to have the same journey as many vets who come home and feel misunderstood. Agree?
KH: It is a sad truth that we have often failed our veterans upon their return in how we care for them. This has been my soapbox for a while. If we as a country are going to ask people to put themselves in harm’s way for us it really behooves us to care for them fully when they come home. This is especially true of female veterans who are often forgotten in this equation.
EC: Your earlier book, Home Front, was similar but focused on a war on terror vet?
KH: My passion for wanting to focus on returning veterans led me to write Home Front. This was the beginning of my rearing up to write this book, The Women. By speaking with a Blackhawk pilot who deployed, Teresa Burgess, a warrant officer, helped me to find authenticity. She also helped me to understand when women are considered in combat and when they are not. This idea that someone can be a Blackhawk pilot rescuing soldiers in a hot landing zone and not be considered in combat just stayed with me. One of the things the Vietnam nurses heard when they came home and tried to get help for their emotional trauma, “well you were not in combat so why would you have any issues.”
EC: Your dedication in The Women was very powerful. Do you want to explain it?
KH: It summarizes the book. It is my discovery of why I wrote this story. It was shocking to see that even the male Vietnam vets brushed off what nurses went through. The women were continually confronted with their invisibility and lack of remembrance for their service even by the VA and those who should have known better. Women have served as nurses in wars for ages. It was weird to me how consistently they were overlooked. They have been marginalized or forgotten.
EC: You do explain that the Vietnam veterans, unlike other vets, were treated horrifically, which included being called baby killers, being flipped off, and spat upon. Why put it in?
KH: This is why I wanted to write about the Vietnam era. As a child I remember how they were treated when they came home. My best friend’s father was shot down and I wore his POW bracelet for decades. This stayed with me. I always wanted to write about this terrible and dark period of American history because it so important for healing, individually and as a nation. We need to recognize and remember their service. I think in many instances they lived in the shadows about what they went through.
EC: You also delve into PTSD?
KH: Remember this is a time when there was no help for PTSD for the men either. This is the beginning of the treatment and the understanding of it. The male vets faced daunting challenges to getting help as well, especially in the late 1960s. These vets came home to a toxic American reaction to their service. I do not think it can be overstated about how it affected their healing and wanting to get help. This was entirely new. The WWII vets came home to ticker tape parades of gratitude and honor, while the Vietnam vets, both male and female, came home to horror.
EC: Do you think PTSD played a huge role in the book?
KH: In my first draft I did not include it because I wrote about it before in Home Front and The Great Alone, the dark side of PTSD. But the truth is, in reading about the Vietnam era vets it felt wrong not to talk about this journey of theirs including emotional trauma, flashbacks, nightmares, and responses they did not understand. There was this layer of shame and silence that overlayed their service. I had to have Frankie experience what so many of her sister and male counterparts experienced.
EC: Do you think wars now and in the past helped women who served be more empowered, many breaking the glass ceiling?
KH: I agree. I met a woman who was a nurse over there, became a lawyer, and is now a judge in Southern California. She said that one of the things learned after being a nurse in Vietnam is that “we can do anything.” I thought how true and powerful. The women who I met have a wide range of careers. The 1960s was a time when women’s roles were much more prescribed, yet these women broke out of it and realized their own strength and power. Women should be able to do anything they want.
EC: How would you describe Frankie?
KH: I created Frankie to be a woman of her time, someone coming of age in the 50s and 60s. She realized her own strength but became broken by her Vietnam experience. Because of her lack of healing, she makes choices that destroy her. She must fight with her girlfriends at her side as well as her own self to become the best version of herself. She has learned from her mistakes, a survivor. At times very competent, angry, fragile, anxious, and unhinged. She is very smart, honest, and compassionate. Not necessary all these things all at once, a before and after. When she came home to stateside after the war, she is fighting between the woman she was raised to be and the woman the Vietnam War turned her into. It takes her a long time to accept this new version of herself. She had to forge an unfamiliar and sometimes an unsupported path.
EC: What about the friends Ethel and Barb?
KH: Barb was the rebel rouser. They both are loyal and helped each other and Frankie. They are strong and believed in each other. This is a presentation of female camaraderie during war. One thing I always heard is that war can be the best of times and the worst of times simultaneously. The best of times is the friendships they made, and they felt they did something that mattered. Barb, Ethel, and Frankie were literally saving lives. This all comes together that created powerful bonds.
EC: You have a recurring theme in all your books?
KH: Yes, female friendship is something I cared deeply about. It is important to me that Frankie was healed by herself but also with her girlfriends. They saved her.
EC: What about Frankie’s relationship with her father?
KH: I found in my research how often these women who served felt unsupported by their own families, both on leaving and on returning. The father was part of the greatest generation who taught Frankie to be proud of her family’s military service. He was proud when his son went off to war, but embarrassed and ashamed when his daughter did the same thing. I think many women in Vietnam did not have the support of their own families.
EC: Frankie’s love interests: Jamie and Rye?
KH: Rye was Frankie’s brother’s best friend. Over the course of her in country and at home life she falls in love several times. Some of these love stories prove to be helpful and some are difficult.
EC: The way Jamie was described I thought of Robert Redford in the movie, “The Way We Were”- do you agree?
KH: Me too. I said in the book that he looked like Robert Redford in the movie, “This Property Is Condemned.”
EC: Did the movie or TV show MASH come into your mind?
KH: I mention it in the book because it came out in 1972/73. I grew up watching it. It took me awhile to figure out what war were they talking about. I was astounded by those who said, “there were no women in Vietnam,” considering MASH was on. Women have served as nurses throughout wars. How is it that these women were completely forgotten, even by the people who ought to know better.
EC: The emphasis in the book is that those women who served in Vietnam were forgotten?
KH: And they were not thought about. I saw this cartoon where someone pulled a military uniform out of the attic, and someone asked when did your grandfather serve. They responded, “it was my grandmother.” It is so indicative to me that people automatically think soldiers are just male. There were over 10,000 women serving in Vietnam.
EC: Is The Nightingale still going to be made into a movie?
KH: It got stalled for a couple of years because of the pandemic and then got tripped up because of the writer’s strike and the actor’s strike. I think we are finally on track to film in 2024, fingers crossed.
EC: Do you have any control over your books being made into movies?
KH: Control is not a word I would use. For The Nightingale they have been good about keeping me involved that includes me reading the script and giving input. This is as much as I can hope for as a novelist since I do not want to do the heavy lifting. So, I must give up control to the people who hopefully know what they are doing.
EC: Is this book, The Women, going to be made into a movie?
KH: Warner Bros. has picked it up and they want to do a big screen. I do not have control, but I do have input. I feel very much I am a part of the team, and this is a great feeling.
EC: Next book?
KH: Right now, I am thinking about some things.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.
Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.
The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse—because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them—and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…
MIND GAMES by Nora Roberts is an amazingly rich and layered multi-genre story. It follows the young protagonist, Thea Fox, between the ages of twelve to twenty-seven from a traumatic family event to her ultimate battle and HEA. This book is a mix of family drama, romance, romantic suspense, murder mystery, generational paranormal psychic abilities all rolled together into an engaging story set in a small town in the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains.
School is out in Virginia and twelve-year-old Thea and ten-year-old Rem are on their way to spend two weeks with their Grandma Lucy in the Kentucky foothills. They always look forward to helping with the animals and gardens, helping with their grandma’s home-based company, and running free in the mountains. But this year, something terrible happened to their parents and they will be staying with their grandma in Redbud Hollow.
Thea has the gift of sight that has passed down through generations of women in her family and she is able to use it to help police capture her parent’s killer. But the killer has the same gift, and he uses it to stay tied to Thea. A mental battle wages between them over the next fifteen years until they are face to face and Thea is ready for a final game.
If you loved the sweeping story in Identity, you will love this story just as much. The parents’ murder is heartbreaking, but the family love between Lucy, Thea, and Rem warms and heals the break, at least partially. Then you get to read how Thea strengthens not only physically, but mentally and learns to deal with her gift as well as how to handle the intrusions and attacks from the killer. I fell in love with all the well-developed characters in this story, especially the son of Thea’s love interest. I loved the ending, not only because it ends on a HEA, but because of Thea’s solution and use of her gift to obtain it even if it could end her own.
I highly recommend this new multi-genre story from the author that never disappoints!
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About the Author
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 — The Becoming — the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
Two real, brilliant women on two sides of the law, in a daring game of cat and mouse…
1926, Washington, D. C.
In the Prohibition Rum Wars, the Coast Guard is losing. Eleven million gallons of illegal liquor a year have created a booming smuggling economy, with criminals wreaking havoc on American cities, and everyday citizens thumbing their noses at Uncle Sam. But the Coast Guard has a new, secret weapon—one of the husband-and-wife pair who invented cryptanalysis and trained Great War soldiers—to crack smuggler codes, intercept traffic, and destroy the trade, one skiff at a time. That secret weapon is a 5’2″ mastermind in heels, who also happens to be a wife and mother: Mrs. Elizebeth Smith Friedman.
Bahamas
When Marie Waite—wife of a rumrunner and mother of two little ones—notices discrepancies in cargo, she insists on accompanying her husband, Charlie, on a run from their home in Miami to Nassau. There, not only does Marie witness her husband’s shortcomings, but she becomes enthralled by Cleo Lythgoe, “The Bahama Queen,” who announces her retirement while regaling the thugs at the bar with tales of murder and mayhem on the high seas. In spite of Cleo’s warnings about a “new man in the government” who seems to know where they are before they get there, Marie knows an opportunity when she sees it, and she wants the crown for herself so badly she can taste it.
So begins Marie’s plan to rise as rumrunner royalty long enough to get her family in the black. What she didn’t count on was that the more sophisticated her operation grows, the more she comes on the radar of the feds, nabbing criminals by the daily dozen. Once Marie knows who she’s up against, she’s more determined than ever to triumph.
On the other side of the law, Elizebeth is the only codebreaker battling scores of smugglers. From solving thousands of intercepted codes and ciphers, to riding along on Coast Guard patrols, to national travel, to testifying in court rooms—all while managing her household—the strain begins to wear on her. Once the work becomes personal, and she discovers Marie as a premier adversary, Elizebeth’s desire to catch the woman becomes almost obsessive.
From the glamorous world of D. C. Intelligence to the sultry shores of the Straits of Florida, The Last Twelve Miles—a tale of ambition and envy—is based on the true story of two women masterminds trying to outwit each other in a dangerous and fascinating game of high stakes.
THE LAST TWELVE MILES by Erika Robuck is a thrilling historical fiction story of two women, each brilliant, going head-to-head on opposite sides of the law during the Prohibition Era southern rum wars. While I have read about Elizebeth Friedman and her contributions to cryptanalysis, Spanish Marie was new to me, and this author brought both women to vivid life for me as I was reading.
Mrs. Elizebeth Smith Friedman and her husband invented cryptanalysis during WWI. Elizebeth has gone on to work for the Coast Guard during Prohibition to crack smugglers’ codes so the Coast Guard can intercept smugglers and destroy their illegal alcohol. Her primary focus is on the Cuban, Bahamian, and Florida routes. She is the Coast Guards secret weapon to capturing many law breakers.
Marie Waite is the wife of a rum runner and when she learns the queen of the runners is retiring, she seizes the opportunity and becomes Spanish Marie. She takes advantage of every new technology to evade capture and continue her rise to the top of her chosen illegal trade.
Spanish Marie becomes Elizebeth’s obsession in a cat and mouse game.
I loved this story so much! Ms. Robuck brings both women to life on the page, even though the author acknowledges that information on Spanish Marie is more lore than fact. This is a historical fiction book that grabbed me from page one, and I was unable to put the book down. Elizebeth has a full life outside of the home with her cryptanalysis and must learn how to balance her work and home life as a wife and mother, which is an unusual position to be in during the 1920’s. Marie begins life poor and makes terrible choices in men, but it leads to her ambition and endless need for wealth. Elizebeth and Marie are fully developed characters that you can empathize with in different ways, and it makes their protagonist/antagonist battles even more fascinating.
I highly recommend this amazing historical fiction!
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About the Author
Erika Robuck is the national bestselling author of historical fiction including SISTERS OF NIGHT AND FOG, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, and HEMINGWAY’S GIRL, and sports parent satire #HOCKEYSTRONG. Her articles have appeared in Writer Unboxed, Crime Reads, and Writer’s Digest, and she contributed an essay to Writer’s Digest’s AUTHOR IN PROGRESS.
A boating enthusiast, amateur historian, and former teacher, Erika was recently named Annapolis’ Author of the Year, and she resides there with her husband and three sons.
Tarris Marie’s debut novel intertwines crime, romance, and the ‘90s era. A refreshing new voice for urban romance lovers and women’s crime thriller connoisseurs.
Before her Hollywood dreams were shattered, Pearle Monalise Brown was the tenacious aspiring actress from Compton’s unforgiving, scarred streets. Never broken, Pearle switches gears to a fallback plan—resorting to her beauty and acting skills to swindle money and expensive jewels. When she’s hired by the Colombian cartel to steal a priceless Basquiat from the debonair kingpin and art collector, Blaque, her talents might not be enough to keep her from falling into a trap she never saw coming.
Blaque is sagacious and handsome—not to mention the legacy of two powerful organized crime families: the Laurent’s—known dons hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, and the Savage’s—a sophisticated syndicate with criminal enterprises across the U.S. As Blaque and Pearle become passionately entangled, Pearle falls prey to a darker underworld. Time is ticking. Lives are at stake. Will these love outlaws be able to outsmart their enemies, or will they wage an all-out war, leaving the bodies to fall wherever they may?
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Elise’s Thoughts
Blaque Pearle by Tarris Marie intertwines crime, romance, and the ‘90s era. Much like her characters, the author also took a powerful journey, having to overcome Stargardt Disease, a genetic condition that caused her legal blindness and cost her a corporate job.
The plot has deeply flawed but relatable characters who risk everything for love and family. The main female lead, Pearle Brown was an aspiring actress that got caught up in her brother’s scheme. She decides to use her beauty and acting skills to swindle money and expensive jewels from unsuspecting people. When she and her brother are hired to steal a priceless Basquiat from the debonair kingpin and art collector, Blaque, her talents might not be enough to keep her from falling into a trap she never saw coming, falling in love with him. Although he is from two powerful crime families he also falls in love with Pearle and will do anything to keep her safe. Together they use their skills to battle their enemies and help those in need.
The book has vivid descriptions, captivating characters, and a complex storyline. It is not only riveting but informative as well.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why become a writer?
Tarris Marie: I decided to write after I lost my central vision. I had come from the corporate world and after losing some of my vision I became depressed and was on a downward spiral. When I was on the floor, I heard a voice telling me to get up. I asked God what to do and heard, write a book. This was in 2020 when I decided to write a series, a total of four novels.
EC: Do you want to talk about your disease?
TM: Stargardt Disease is a hereditary disease of the retina, affecting the central sight. It is a juvenile form of Macular Degeneration. For me, I got it my late thirties. Now I am legally blind. It does not affect my peripheral vision, but I could not see anything I directly look at. My support system is my husband, children, family, friends, and the best doctors. I use technology to help me become independent.
EC: Is the story related to your life?
TM: I wrote about the decade in which I grew up. I was trying to find myself, so I went back in time. This book is the first book to come out, taking place in the 1990s. I grew up in an urban environment in Gary Indiana, America’s murder capitol. I grew up in a loving home. I lived the 1990s culture, the hip-hop music, and the hairstyles. I met a lot of people, learned a lot, and grew a lot.
EC: Why did you make your hero and heroine “bad guys?”
TM: They start off as “bad.” But there was redemption, and the characters were relatable considering the decisions made was to survive. I was also able to relate to these characters because I do know what it feels like to be in a place where you must do what is necessary to survive.
EC: Why not end the story with Part I?
TM: Part I was more about the drug aspect, while Part II concentrated on human trafficking. In the late 1990s it used the Internet, a lot of traps for young girls.
EC: How would you describe Pearle?
TM: Low-key, greedy, quiet, protective, and loyal. I named her Pearle, symbolic because it has a lot of layers. Like the gemstone, the character has a hard exterior, but has layers.
EC: How would you describe Blaque?
TM: Gentle but could be rough and powerful. A listener, honest, funny, open-minded, adventurous, mysterious, and serious. I named him Blaque to represent the black male that I knew. He loved the women in his life and respected them. The color black is mysterious and sexy. Putting his name along with Pearle, the gemstone Black Pearl is unique, created in a different type of oyster. It represents healing of broken hearts. Like me, I needed to heal because I was broken. I hope to take any reader on that journey as well.
EC: Next book?
TM: The title is Empress Creed, out in February 2024. It is a prequel with a hindsight into the family. It takes place in the 1930s in the Midwest and shows how the crime family got started.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
