Rachel R. Heil's Blog, page 10

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano Review

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Finlay Donovan is a recently divorced mother of two little children and is far from killing it at life. She’s months behind on her newest novel, has more overdue bills than she cares to count, a garage door that won’t close, and an ex-husband dead set on receiving full custody of their two children. But, for Finlay things are going to get even more complicated. While discussing her book with her publisher at a local Panera, a woman overhears Finlay and mistakes her for a hitwoman, and she has a little problem she wants Finlay to take care of. What ensues is a hilarious tale of what one woman will do to kill it at life.

In one simple word, this book could be described as hilarious. The subject matter could be dark, but Ms. Cosimano has created a fantastic character in Finlay Donovan, a mom who has been pushed just a bit too hard and is looking for a way to keep her children out of the hands of her cheating ex-husband. Though I’m not a mother myself I do think many women can relate to Finlay’s struggles, as well as her humor about her situation. Finlay knows what she is doing is wrong, but isn’t your husband cheating on your real estate agent also just as bad?

Finlay is soon joined by her babysitter, Vero. This college student is probably my favorite character in the story. She’s sassy, self assured, and her humor is one of my favorite aspects of this book. These two oddball characters find themselves in deep trouble when a well meaning bartender and a young, ambitious detective become involved, only complicating the plot but also providing more insane situations that Finlay and Vero have to get out of.

There is truly nothing I didn’t dislike about this book. It could be argued that the plot if predictable and that it’s not necessarily a deep mystery where you have to guess the killer. Nonetheless, it is one of those books that you can fly through and, if you are down and having a bad day, it will immediately put you into a better move. For that, I loved this book and believe it might become one of my favorite books moving forward.

5 out of 5 stars

Infiltration Teaser Post #4

Hello fellow readers! Here is the last teaser for Infiltration, which you can now pick up and if you haven’t, make sure you do

Infiltration ©Rachel R. Heil 2023

Ernst never looked forward to his meetings with Bruckmann but now he enjoyed them even less. Since hiring Lina, Bruckmann had been on Ernst like an annoying nit that wouldn’t go away.

“Has she said anything that could link her with the Brotherhood?” Bruckmann’s sweaty face was inches from Ernst, who resisted the urge to smack it away.

“No,” Ernst replied. “She’s being careful, if she is involved.”

“If?” Ulrich looked at his friend, his skin crawling with frustration. “Ernst, she’s involved. You said so yourself.”

“Pardon me,” Ernst rolled his eyes in exasperation. He was beginning to wish he hadn’t come up with the idea in the first place.

No, he didn’t mean that for as much as Ernst knew he had hired Lina to fulfill an investigation he also knew that he was beginning to like her. She was the first person in a long time that Ernst enjoyed seeing. She was kind to him, willing to humor his stupid jokes, and tease with the same ruthlessness he gave out. For the first time in many years, Ernst looked forward to going into work.

“I have Mielke breathing down my neck about this case,” Bruckmann forced his fat body down onto his chair. “Maybe if she worked for me we would be getting somewhere.”

Ernst cringed at the idea of Lina being anywhere near his ugly, obese, lustful superior. She didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserved that.

“These things take time,” Ernst retorted. “She’s playing it safe, gaining my trust. She’ll slip up sooner or later.”

“Better be soon,” Bruckmann sat back in his chair, which made a notable squeaky noise under the mass of his body. “It’s only a matter of time before the Brotherhood gets comfortable again and starts to act up. The political situation isn’t help with that Gorbachev in Moscow apologizing for everything left and right. There’s even talk of him opening up the state archives to the public. Laying out all of the Soviet Union’s dirty laundry.”

“Surely he wouldn’t,” Ulrich rested his arms on the chair’s. “That would be suicide for the Party.”

“He’s destroying everything that makes up the Socialist ideal,” Bruckmann grabbed his handkerchief from his tunic pocket and dabbed his forehead. “Idiot. He’ll be the death of us. He’ll make the entire system weak and do you know what happens when systems become weak?” Bruckmann suddenly jumped straight in his chair and slammed a large hand down on his desk, startling Ulrich but Ernst didn’t flinch. “They attack! And the Brotherhood will be more than happy to serve the Stasi on a silver platter and you,” Bruckmann pointed a finger at Ernst, “better find those people or I swear to God I’ll make sure you are the first one to face the tribunal.”

Ernst resisted the urge to push Bruckmann’s finger away from his face but he did politely remind his superior, “There has been attacks against the Stasi since it was established. We’ve crushed them every time. Besides, we all know the citizens of the regime don’t have the strength and resources to take down the system.”

“But the West does,” Bruckmann snarled.

“The West doesn’t care,” Ernst reminded him. “If they truly did care they would have done something by now.” He shrugged. “But they prefer to put their heads in the sand. You’ve read the reports of how Westerners view the GDR and its people.”

“That is true,” Ulrich supported.

Bruckmann’s stance seemed to soften at the argument.

“Don’t worry, sir,” Ernst smirked, “no one will be coming for you anytime soon.”

Ernst thought about what was said in that meeting as he drove home that night, down the abandoned roads and darkened buildings, careful to avoid the potholes that had been caused by Soviet artillery and never properly patched up. Despite the world the Firm had created and the one many continued to live in one would have to be stupid to not recognize that the outside was changing.

The Party bigwigs in the Soviet Union were dwindling and Gorbachev was proving to be far more difficult that anyone imagined, undoubtedly feeling the pressure from those abroad. There had been enough people who had escaped the Eastern Bloc to share the horrors they witnessed and what their families and friends were still suffering under. People in the West knew about the Stasi and what men like Ernst did. Now the Americans and British had elected themselves leaders who were making it their sole purpose to take down Communism and, if that happened, men like Ernst would be among the first casualties. All the West needed was someone from the inside to bring about that collapse and the Brotherhood would be the ones up for the challenge.

Link: https://mybook.to/InfiltrationHeil

Infiltration Teaser Post #3

Here’s another teaser of Infiltration! Enjoy!

Infiltration ©Rachel R. Heil 2023

“You’ve completely lost your mind,” Ulrich told him matter-of-factly at lunch when Ernst had revealed his plan to his friend.

Anxiously looking around at the others in the cafeteria, Ulrich snarled at Ernst, “You want a suspected terrorist to be your secretary?”

“You did say I was in desperate need of one,” Ernst sat back in his chair, dangling a cigarette between his fingers.

“No one is that desperate,” Ulrich’s face was tight was indignation as he poked at his soup.

“Ulrich, you must think of this logically,” Ernst leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table. “We are getting nowhere with Logan and the officer tracking Daniel Prochnow. We are essentially in the same spot as before we caught Bauer. We’ve now been given a golden opportunity to infiltrate the group.”

“If she’s involved,” Ulrich reminded him.

Ernst inhaled his cigarette before blowing out the smoke with annoyance. “She is. No one goes through what she did and not want revenge against the person whose behind it. Bruckmann agreed with me when I proposed the idea to him.”

“Ernst,” Ulrich folded his arms and placed them on the table. “She has no idea you signed off on the orders.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ernst burned the cigarette out on his plate. “She wants revenge against me. To her, I am the embodiment of evil and need to be stopped.”

“And so you’re going to stop her by having her be in a position where she’s with you all day?” Ulrich was nearly laughing. He grabbed his glass of water and shook his head. “You are a lunatic.”

Ernst began to wonder if he was but whatever way he looked at it, bringing Prochnow in as his secretary and having access to her for several hours of a day might just be the break his investigation needed. The only thing that still troubled him was that he might have to sign off on the execution order for Prochnow as he had done for Bauer.

Ulrich sighed heavily, finishing his water and placing the empty glass down. “You know I’ll support you but I think this is risky.”

Ernst smiled. “Most of what we do is risky.”

Link: https://mybook.to/InfiltrationHeil

Infiltration Teaser Post #2

Hello fellow readers! Today I’m sharing with you the #2 teaser for my upcoming release Infiltration. Enjoy!

Infiltration ©Rachel R. Heil 2023

The acceptance of Lina as Ernst Jung’s personal secretary came sooner than she had anticipated. The day before the Brotherhood’s weekly meeting she received a letter in the mail from Jung, informing her that her job application had been accepted and she should report to his office on the first of June.

Lina felt a wave of joyous success but also mind-numbing fear. She had successfully entered the Stasi and would have access to the cases Jung was in charge of. But she was also entering the inner sanctum of the devil and his minions, Jung chief among them. Lina would have to tread carefully but she knew she could do it.

The Brotherhood were less inclined.

“You are not naïve,” Hannah spoke slowly and methodically after Lina had told them. “You are positively stupid.”

Daniel, standing on the opposite side of the table from Hannah, lunged forward, only held back by Bernhard. “You’re ignorant. My sister has done more for this movement than you have done in your entire existence!”

Guy, who always stood at the head of the table, looked at Hannah harshly. “Hannah, your words, as always, are harsh and not necessary.” He then looked at Lina, who stood on the other end of the table. “But she is correct in her concerns. You should have brought this plan before us.”

“You would have shot it down,” Lina spoke the truth.

“For good reason,” Bernhard argued. “We’ve wanted to avoid the Stasi, not enter their den.”

“Do you realize how careful you’ll have to be?” Major inquired, his voice the calmest of them all. “Every word and action you say or do will be scrutinized.”

“Even more because of your background,” Bernhard added.

“Which makes it all the more concerning of why Jung hired you,” Guy gripped the edges of the table. “I fear your Stasi friend has his own agenda.”

Lina shook her head at the idea. “Jung has no evidence that I’m part of the Brotherhood. He let me go because it was clear I had no knowledge of it.”

“This is your biggest problem,” Hannah tossed a hand at Lina. “You continuingly disregard the fact that the Stasi are smarter than they lead you to believe.”

Lina felt her angry growing at her comrades’ disbelief that she could pull this off. “Then what are we supposed to do? We have no idea where Logan is and therefore we can’t continue the work Winston was killed over. Meanwhile more people are getting locked up, silenced, and those who have to get of the East are stuck here. And the West shows no sign of landing a hand.” Lina threw an upset hand into the air before looking at the group with pleading eyes. “I have been handed a chance to change that. Think of the information I’ll have access to! Not only can I find out where Logan is and what the Stasi knows about us, but I’ll know of people soon to be arrested, the identity of other informants, and if the Stasi is going to strike, giving us all ample time to make arrangements to get out or go into hiding. There is no other way for us to get that knowledge.”

“But at the risk of you getting killed,” Daniel finally spoke up.

Only Daniel had known of Lina’s plan and he had been as angry with her as the others, though he was wise enough to know that once Lina made her mind up there was little chance of it changing.

Lina looked at her brother, a lump forming in her throat. Her eyes switched to the others, who were staring at her, waiting for a reply. Daniel had mentioned the possibility they all feared, that not only would the Stasi imprison and torture them but that they could be executed, just like Winston. It was terrifying idea and one that continually made Lina second guess her decision. But every time she thought of it, her mind went back to Winston. She had failed him once. She would not fail in helping to carry out his vision for the future, a future where they could speak their minds and live free of their oppressive regime. The only way that could happen was for the Brotherhood, including Lina, to take risks.

Settling her eyes on Guy, who waited patiently for an answer, Lina told him, “I promised to make any sacrifice necessary for the Brotherhood. I’m taking that sacrifice now. I’m going to infiltrate the Stasi and I am going to help people who need us, and to show the world who the Stasi and the GDR government truly are.”

Link: https://mybook.to/InfiltrationHeil