Laura Freeman's Blog, page 32

The Keys: Voice of the Turtle

The Keys: Voice of the Turtle by Karen Hulene Bartell[image error]

Ruth and her fiancé Brett visit her cousin Keya in the Florida Keys. While Brett goes on a fishing trip with his buddies, his cousin Auggie Erskine entertains them and begins a romance with Keya. In the first chapter Ruth and Keya find the body of Maita on the beach of the property Keya inherited from her late husband, Jules Erskine. She wants to preserve the property for the Turtle Refuge and has a nest marked on the beach to protect it until the loggerhead turtles hatch. Her husband’s cousins are trying to claim the property in a deal with the neighbor, Gerald Granger, who wants to turn it into a beachfront hotel.

Auggie could be a bad guy because he is also a cousin in the lawsuit and Bartell adds more than than one bad guy to the story to keep the reader guessing. Keya has the ability to talk to animals such as her cat and the sea turtles at the refuge who need medical care. Ruth can see ghost when she touches something they had in their possession. Not only does she see Maita’s ghost, she sees the ghost of Bartolome Garcia de Castillo who went down on a ship loaded with treasure.

This cozy mystery has a cat and dog and adds a romance and ghosts along with recipes in the back of the book. Bartell writes a story with descriptive scenery, delicious food, and local history that educates the reader as well as entertains. Bartell is able to keep the pages turning with plenty of surprises and whether Keya will be able to keep her property and save the turtles.

Bartell limits the number of characters so the reader won’t need to keep notes, although you may want to jot down some of the sites and visit them on your next trip to Florida. She uses the ghosts wisely, limiting their input in small doses as Ruth and Keya figure out what is going on. Movie fans will recall “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” as Ruth records the adventures of Bartolome.

Bartell maintains the two women’s amateur sleuth status using their peculiar powers since they can’t go to the police with things revealed to them by animals and ghosts. She also adds spirituality to help the ghosts move on at the end and resolve some of the issues the two women face.

Add Bartell to your lists of authors to read and for writers, she shows how to combine different genres and weave them into a tale that will satisfy a wide range of readers.

Gather the Stars by Kimberly Cates

Gather the Stars (Culloden’s Fire Book 1) by Kimberly Cates

If you love Outlander, this is the book to read. Set in Scotland 1746, Cates takes two polar[image error] opposites and throws them together in a battle against each other and then throws in a desperate plot to save their love and lives.

Rachel is Lord General Marcus de Lacey’s daughter and the darling of all the British soldiers wooing for her hand. She has agreed to marry Sir Dunstan Well, the brave hero of Culloden Moor. Her friend, Nathaniel Rowland, warns her against marrying him and applauds the Scottish hero Glen Lyon who has become a legend rescuing women and children from the British brutality.

Minutes after Nathaniel leaves her in the garden, she is kidnapped by Glen Lyon’s half-brother, Adam, and taken to his hideout in a cave. The children call her Sassenach and she plans her escape by loading a pistol and waiting for Glen Lyon to return. Glen is Gavin Carstares, the Earl of Glenlyon.

Gavin meets with Dunstan and tells him to leave a harbor free and he will return Rachel unharmed. When Gavin returns to the cave, Rachel greets him with a gun. He tries to take it and is shot. Rachel has to take care of him. Gavin’s father loved Adam’s mother who was his mistress and raised five children with her. He wanted to be a soldier and Gavin went off to war to please him. He said he was a coward at Prestonpans and has nightmares about it. He tells her Dunstan was brutal and slew Willie, a unarmed boy during the battle.

Adam is an alpha hero, big and strong, while Gavin is a bookworm and wears glasses. He’s sworn to protect the innocent from the savagery of war and in two years has saved countless lives. His daring and honor define him as the hero and the reader is won over even as Rachel discovers the real man.

Rachel escapes but witnesses British soldiers forcing women and children into a hut and setting it on fire. She still thinks Dunstan is honorable and has no part in it, but the reader knows better. Gavin rushes forward and rips off a shutter to free them and goes inside to rescue a baby from the fire. Gavin and Rachel spend the night in a cottage and make love. They declare their love but Gavin also tells her about his nightmares and says he is a coward. In the morning Gavin tells her they have no future. She calls him a coward for not believing they can have a future together.

They return to the cave and find out Adam is arrested and claims to be Glen Lyon to protect Gavin. He is sentenced to hang in two days. Gavin locks Rachel in the cave, takes her betrothal ring and heads to Furley House to barter for Adam’s life with his own.

Cates plays the main characters off each other to perfection, a duel of strong convictions and tender feelings. When they realize their true feelings, their reaction is explosive, but then daylight dashes all hope they can remain together. Cates increases the tension by putting our hero and heroine in the villain’s clutches and making us turn every page to find out how they escape.

 

 

Nearly a Lady by Alissa Johnson

Nearly a Lady by Alissa Johnson

The Marquess Lucian of Engsly is searching for his stepmother the Dowager Lady [image error]Engsley who has been stealing from the family for years by skimming funds and making up charities. He sends his younger brother, Lord Gideon Haverston, 31, to check on their father’s ward, Winnifred and her governess, Lilly after 12 years of neglect.

They hit him over the head with a frying pan in a cute meet. Lilly recognizes him and their mistake. He pretends to believe their lies about someone else assaulting him. They lived on 5 pounds a year instead of 80 promised because of his stepmother’s theft. Gideon promises them seasons in London and money to make up for their poverty. They think he’s crazy.

Winnie loves Murdoch House, wearing trousers, and her goat, Claire. Gideon thinks she’s wonderful but he is plagued by guilt over losing the boys on his ship during a battle and doesn’t want ANY responsibilities. Winnifred falls for Gideon fast and hard and her brutal honestly wins his heart.

This is their conflict and Johnson does an excellent job of showing their feelings and the war between them as it builds to an explosion at the end. Everyone knows a romance has to have a happily ever after but getting there is the pleasure and Johnson delivers.

In the Arms of a Pirate by Michelle Beattie

In the Arms of a Pirate by Michelle Beattie

The story is set in Santo Domingo in the Caribbean in 1664 and is an excellent pirate [image error]story.

Aidan Bradley is our hero. There is plenty of back story and Beattie throws a lot at you in the first chapter. Aidan and his mother were taken by Roche Santiago when he was five. His mother was beaten, raped, and thrown overboard while still alive. He was sold into slavery. His back bear the scars. When he was 8 years old Samantha Steele saved him and others from the plantation. She began her life as pirate Sam Steele and several have followed in her path. She was mother to Aiden who is now captain of the Revenge and known as Captain Sam Steele. It’s been his dream. That and revenge against Roche.

In the previous story, Her Pirate to Love, Aiden is first mate to Cale Hunter who rescues Grace from Roche. For rescuing her, Roche attacks the home of Sam, her husband, Luke and others. This is all in the first chapter but sets the rest of the story up. Cale turns out to be Aiden’s father and he has to wrestle with that relationship and the one with his adoptive parents, Sam and Luke. But most of all, he wants revenge against Roche for attacking their home and the death of his mother. Grace tells them Roche has a daughter, Sarah, and Aiden kidnaps her for leverage. Sarah is 18 and has been kept a prisoner in her home all her life. All she wants is freedom is planning her escape when Aiden arrives. As hard as Aiden tries he cannot fight the curse that all Steeles fall in love with the captives.

The premise is simple of revenge and an ultimate battle to the death, but Beattie uses the emotional turmoil to keep the reader wondering how things will turn out. Will Aiden accept Cale as his father? Will his adopted parents resent his claiming Cale? Will Sarah realize what a monster her father is? How will that affect her? Will she try to prevent Aiden from killing him? Will Aiden be able to love Sarah knowing who her father is? Will Aiden be able to kill Roche?

Beattie expertly examines all the real and imagined feelings in a realistic and honest way with the reader sharing the ups and downs through the story. Beattie has done her research on ships, weapons, and piracy. The descriptions of the ships, Tortuga, and the battle are realistic and puts the reader in the scene. Aye, if you want to be a pirate, this is the book to read.

Unmasking Miss Appleby by Emily Larkin

Unmasking Miss Appleby (Baleful Godmother series) by Emily Larkin

1805 London Marcus Langford, Earl of Cosgrove, is attacked and his secretary harmed. [image error]He hires a new secretary Christopher Albin, who happens to really be Charlotte Appleby. Charlotte is 25 and a faery has given her one wish. Charlotte is orphaned and living with her uncle and aunt, who treat her horribly. She wants independence but the job of a governess or schoolmistress won’t pay much. She sees the ad for a secretary but it is for a man. She chooses the gift of metamorphosis – the only catch is she will miscarry if she changes shape while pregnant. Having no hopes of marrying, she chooses it and finds employment with Marcus. He lists six men who may want him dead and they begin to investigate each one to determine who it is.

Because he is fighting to end slavery in the British colonies, Lord Barshdon is on the list because of his opposing politics; Sir Broderick Hyde and his companions are also pro-slavery. Phillip Langford is his nephew and heir and always asking for money. Gerald Monkwood is his brother-in-law and blames him for Lavinia’s death. She fell from the roof of their country home, Hazelbrook Hall. She also had an affair with his best friend, Sir Barnaby of Ware, the last name on the list.

Although the investigation into who wants to kill him takes up much of the novel, the story is about Marcus and his relationships with Albin and Charlotte. Larkin is hilarious in showing Charlotte in the guise of Albin being taken to a brothel to meet with Phillip and then asking all sorts of questions about sex of Marcus, who answers as best as he can, feeling sorry for the innocent young man. He also shows him how to throw a punch and tie a neckcloth.

Charlotte also turns into dogs, birds, mouse, and a burly man. Larkin shows how she has to adjust to each new form. And did I say bear? She becomes defensive of Marcus and rescues him several times as more attempts are made on his life. She also uses her nose as a dog to find out who the hired men are. Larkin uses the shape-shifting skill to maximum effect in this story.

Charlotte has a mannerism of lining articles up in a neat line and you know it will tip Marcus off at some point. Larkin is a skilled storyteller. She has combined history, romance, and a little magic to create a unique and entertaining story. We know Marcus, who has already been betrayed by his wife, Lavinia, will be broken by Charlotte’s lies and deception, even though they are her only choice. It makes you turn every page wondering how will she resolve the problems once the secret is revealed.

 

Murder in the Abbey by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

Murder in the Abbey (Book 8) in the Maggie Newberry Mysteries by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

I didn’t read the other Maggie Newberry Mysteries but it didn’t matter. Susan Kiernan-[image error]Lewis gives enough background to explain where Maggie is and to make the reader curious about reading the previous books and discovering how she came to this point. That’s a rare talent in a series writer.

American Maggie is married to French vineyard owner Laurent Dernier in the town of St-Buvard when news arrives that Laurent’s best friend, Roger, and former partner in crime is dead. Maggie is an amateur sleuth and there are plenty of suspects introduced at the Abbey, an inn giving guests a taste of upper class life in the 1920s or a Downton Abbey experience. The widow Anastasia is not crying any tears, the nephew, who is head of the foundation, has something to hide, and the servants are nervous. Throw in an old girlfriend of Laurent, a Fox Hunt and a bomb and there is plenty of action.

Kiernan-Lewis knows how to keep the reader guessing. Maggie is just as confused as she tries to figure out who killed Roger. She also has to deal with the old girlfriend who is kissing her husband. Everyone has a motive and Roger isn’t a very likable guy but Laurent is feeling guilty about not seeing his friend in years and Maggie wants to find closure for him and return to their home and children.

Kiernan- Lewis throws in several twists and turns along with jaw-dropping surprises before bringing the story to a resolution and revealing the killer. She is a skilled storyteller and holds the attention of the reader through every page. She uses different points of view but limits inner thoughts to Maggie. It has all the elements of a cozy mystery but has a little sharper edge and darker overtones.

If you like murder series with a likeable heroine, then this is one to try. There’s plenty of French culture and English countryside background setting to appeal to just about everyone. And there is a recipe at the end of the story for custard.

 

Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson

Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson

I don’t normally read chick-lit/romance, but I did enjoy Bridget Jones’s Diary and this book is an [image error]American version of a woman named Julia Droning, who is 32 and has discovered she fits the definition of spinster. She lives in her parent’s basement, she has worked at a dead-end job for 10 years, and she has no social life. She works for a software company and avoids work by going on smoke breaks with co-worker Betsy Brown and gossiping.

Then enters Jared Moody, who gets the job she applied for in human resources. They have a cute-meet and after overcoming her embarrassment, they become friends because spinsters don’t have romances. Julia has to deal with her little sister Anna, who has racked up $50,000 in credit card debt and wants her basement apartment. She decides to finally get her own apartment and shares her stories of Jared with Anna, who has bonded with her.

Then she loses her job. Yes, the one she hated, but also learns Jared had a part in her being fired. Julia has to adapt to change, something she is not good at, and finds a job at a bakery. She loves to bake but it pays half of what she used to make. Then Jared shows up at the bakery…

The novel is written in first person and Monson uses a lot of self-debating with Julia in the beginning. Then as she gains confidence, the debating diminishes. She makes us root for the spinster who has finally found some love and joy in her life but may throw it all away because she doesn’t know the first thing about men. Do any of us?

This is the first book in the Spinster series and the preview for “Thirty-Three Going on Girlfriend” looks good enough to read.

The Murder Pit by Jeff Shelby

The Murder Pit by Jeff Shelby

The Murder Pit is a cozy mystery with a lot of family humor. Jake and Daisy are a [image error]blended family, both divorced and four kids between them living in a 150-year-old house in Moose River, Minnesota. While trying to fix a frozen pipe, they find a body in the coal chute. Olaf Stunderson turns out to be a man Daisy dated once after joining Once Around the Corner dating site before she met Jake and after her divorce. She looks guilty to everyone in town and to Detective Priscilla Hanborn.

Olaf’s sister accuses her of being the killer, and they wrestle in the snow like kids. Daisy homeschools her three youngest and Olaf’s wife Helen confronts her in the library and then on a tour of the recycling plant. Daisy is emotional and reactionary while Jake is cool and calm and they match each other well. There is a lot of family humor, especially with the kids and each other. Parents will enjoy the banter.

Shelby uses the home schooling as a way for Daisy to meet and talk with different suspects. Even though Jake tells her not to pretend to be a detective, she noses around. Her encounters are realistic and help to flesh out who Olaf was and who may have killed him.

Shelby uses lies by one character to mask the truth, and he throws in a red herring to add another suspect. The real killer may be obvious to some sleuths but not to everyone. A little too much talking was done by Daisy in the end when she realizes who the killer is and exposes herself to danger, but what amateur sleuth doesn’t? Overall it was well written and enjoyable to read.

 

The Earl’s Temptation by Emma Leech

The Earl’s Temptation by Emma Leech

This is the second book in a series but can be read alone. The story takes place in [image error]1814 France and Celeste is a beautiful orphan and Countess de Valrey but in name only because of the French Revolution. She works in a brothel and is gathering firewood for her attic room when she discovers a shipwreck. Mimi is a brain-injured veteran who gathers the smuggled goods. Celeste discovers one of the smugglers is alive and takes him to her room to nurse him back to health. Alex is the Earl of Falmouth and wants to repay Celeste for her kindness by taking her away from the brother. She wants to escape because Monsieur Pelletier wants to buy her. They escape early in the morning and pose as husband and wife. They are both in love with each other but Alex thinks at 36 he is too old for 18-year-old Celeste and keeps turning down her advances.

Leech knows how to build the sexual tension and also tug at the heartstrings as she tears the would-be-lovers apart. First when he insist she have a season and enjoy her youth by sending her to his two aunts. Everyone else, including his brother Lawrence and sister-in-law Henri know they are meant to be and plot for them to be united. When the reader thinks they are just about to be together, Leech tears them apart again using a vicious former mistress.

The Regency romance has all the elements of the genre with titled nobles, lost inheritance, a ball, and rescue attempts. Leech has also brought to very dear characters to life that we root for from the beginning to the end. This is a must read for every Regency romance lover.

Leech’s other historical romance novels include The Rogue, Scandal’s Daughter, The Devil May Care, and Nearly Ruining Mr. Russell.

Walks Through The Mist by Kim Murphy

Walks Through The mist (The Dreaming series Book 1) by Kim Murphy[image error]

If you like “Outlander” and time travel stories with a lot of history, this is a book you will want to read. The historical time period is 1609 to 1630 and focuses on Jamestown and the Paspahegh and local tribes.

The author has done her research to be as historically accurate as possible and covers a lot of information without weighing down the story. Phoebe Wynne has arrived in the present time in a mist and was hit by a car. Detective Lee Crowley is trying to figure out who she is. He has his own mysterious past because he is Native American but was abandoned at the age of two and adopted by white parents.

His ex-wife, Shae is a psychiatrist and treats Phoebe who slowly begins to recall her life in the 17th century. Phoebe’s recollections are in historical order and interwoven with her relationships with the people in the present. She has a special attachment to Lee which is revealed in the end. Don’t peek and ruin the ending.

Murphy is balanced in her depiction of whites and their treatment of women and the tribes or “savages” that they kill as they encroach on their land. This is the time of Pocahontas, and she is mentioned because the Paspahegh are related to her tribe.

Much of the story is violent with Phoebe losing loved ones or being whipped at her father’s command and then as a witch because she is a healer, but the descriptions are realistic and balanced with scenes of family and loving relationships.

If you want to learn about how life was in the 17th century in a balanced and accurate manner instead of what is written in history books, this is a must read. The characters are fully developed and the minor ones add to the story. It is well-written, carefully paced, and has a very satisfying ending. And there is a sequel that sounds equally exciting.