The Last Drop of Hemlock is the continuation of the throw-back gum shoe murder mysteries where the city, New York in this case was ruled by paid off cops, mob type gangsters, prohibition speakeasys and jazz dance clubs. Women were seen and not heard and expected to make the men happy whatever it took.
But Vivian Kelly, our smart and feisty heroine is not having any of those. She along with her police buddy Leo Green have another nailbiter on their hands and will do everything in their power to help Vivian’s friend.
Bea, a singer at the dance club, the Nightingale where Vivian works is in extreme distress. Her uncle Pearlie, new to the town has died. It has been ruled a suicide, but Bea has her doubts. She comes to Vivian to ask her help to find out the truth.
So, Vivian with the help of Leo begin to look into what happened and something sure smells fishy. They find a bottle of brandy in the deceased’s apartment along with missing money. Vivian and Leo think that more than a suicide occurred here.
They decide to go to the coroner’s office with the brandy bottle and discover that it was laced with a megadose of poison. They begin to investigate and learn that many people in the neighborhood where Vivian and her sister Florence live have been receiving threatening letters if they did not sell certain items they have worth money and leave the money at a drop.
Vivian soon becomes deeply immersed in who would do such a thing to people who can barely afford to put food on their table. But all this changes when her own sister, Florence receives one of the letters. And with the help of Leo and the owner of the Nightingale, Honor, Vivian must become a burglar.
The clues just make no sense, but the more Vivian investigates the more she realizes Bea may not like what they believe could have happened. But her only goal is to keep her sister alive and stop the letters and threats to those who don’t have anything.
The Last Drop of Hemlock is an exciting good old-fashioned who done it. It has intrigue and mystery. The only difference is in this series women seem to be in charge and are the ultimate brave detectives with some help from a few men. Although this is the second book of the series, it certainly could be read as a stand-alone. I eagerly await the next installment.
Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #TheLastDropofHemlock #KatherineSchellman for the advanced copy.
Five Total Strangers is an exceptionally different type of psychological thriller. The plot, which is really unknown to the reader, makes for more creative and imaginative images in your mind as you try and figure out what is happening and where the story is going.
Mira is coming home to spend Christmas with her mother. Her parents are divorced, and she has been living with her father in California in order to go to high school where her focus is on art. But she is also heading home to comfort her mother whose sister passed away at this time last year. She knows her mother needs her even though she is remarried.
But a threatening blizzard seems to be making the visit impossible. She finds out her next flight has been cancelled and she has no way of making it back home. But then she bumps into her seatmate, Harper, who has rented a car with a person she met in line, Brecken, and they are making the journey from New Jersey to Pittsburgh. Along with them are two other strangers they seem to have picked up along the way, Josh who is on crutches and Kayla who just seems very quiet.
Mira must make a quick decision and although her gut tells her this doesn’t feel right, something is off with this group, she decides to accept the ride with these strangers. She needs to see her mother, especially when she discovers she’s been keeping secrets from her.
What starts out as a normal car ride, soon turns into a nightmare. With the deteriorating road conditions, they get pushed off the highway. They make the decision to go another route which Mira knows is even more dangerous.
Then they stop for gas, and everything turns even worse. First Mira sees a strange man near the vending machines. The station insists they pay cash only and Harper discovers her wallet is missing. Brecken makes a quick decision which will spiral the group into an even worse mess.
Suddenly more personal items begin to go missing. It’s clearly one of them, but who? They are total strangers…aren’t they? Someone is lying!
But for what purpose?
Five Total Strangers will keep you not only guessing, but speed-reading to the end, and what an incredible ending to this thrilling story! One takeaway…never, ever accept a ride from a stranger! Your life could depend on it!
Famous in a Small Town is another Viola Shipman awe inspiring story where empowered women learn that self-discovery can happen at any age. It tells the story of generations in one family which is made up of mostly women and how they cope with the men in their lives who want to disrespect them. It follows another young woman’s journey on her own road to finding out where she belongs and shows the intersection of these people and the joy, they all bring to each other when they find themselves and each other.
Mary Johnson is now 80 years old. She owns the Very Cherry General Store in a small town in Michigan which does much more than sell cherries. She is quite famous in her own right for winning the cherry spitting contest years ago, a feat no one has yet to break. The store has been run by the women in her family for years and she is the only woman left as she had a son and now has a grown grandson. Mary worries what will happen to the store and her legacy.
Mary’s life was not easy. She had an abusive, alcoholic husband who she feared. She had two best friends, one who let her down years ago and she no longer speaks to. But Mary has a good heart and years ago had a vision that someone would come along and take care of the store to keep the legacy going. And at Mary’s age she feels perhaps this really is the end of the line.
But Mary has not yet met school administrator, Becky Thatcher, yes that is her name, who at the beginning of the summer broke up with her long-time boyfriend who really never treated her as an equal and usually lived off Becky’s money, who seems to have decided he likes this arrangement and doesn’t want to get married. Her parents seem to like him more than her and insists he stay part of the family.
She also has realized she perhaps chose the wrong profession. Her parents, who have never, ever thought outside the box always told her women worked as a teacher, got married and had children. Well, Becky realizes that shipped has sailed and decides she needs to come up with a new plan. Of course, her parents are horrified. She wishes she could be more like her grandparents who lived for adventures and lived life to the fullest! So, Becky and her best friend Q decide to go on a road trip to be with just each other, no men, no family and everything spontaneous.
But when Becky accidentally meets Mary, some kind of magic happens to each of them. They seem like old souls who were always meant to know each other. Becky not only is drawn to the town and the store, but she seems to have the same knack as Mary for spitting those cherry pits pretty far.
With the help of Mary’s grandson who has come for a visit, they all work together to not only help Mary at the store but prepare for a very special anniversary faire for the annual cherry pit spitters. As they all begin to understand each other and help each other find out what they are really missing in life, the bond they all have grows stronger and Becky realizes THIS is the life she has always wanted. But can this woman who has never done anything uncalculated in her life just up and move and work harder than she ever has for herself and nobody else?
She feels this is where she belongs, but just doesn’t know why just yet. But with the help of these strangers, now family she discovers the vision of who she wants to be lies in this small town in this store and with these people.
Famous in a Small Town is a delightful story with lovable characters, beautifully strong women inside and out with their grace and stubbornness which only makes them able to endure all that is thrown their way.
“[A] charming coastal tale.”—KATIE COURIC MEDIA
“Fans of nostalgic small-town charm and quirky characters will love Viola Shipman’s latest book for summer.”
—READER’S DIGEST, Best Summer Books 2023
“Famous in a Small Town is a beautiful reminder to…fully embrace the magic that lives inside you.”
—Heather Webber, USA Today bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café
VIOLA SHIPMAN is the pen name for internationally bestselling LGBTQIA author Wade Rouse. Wade is the author of fifteen books, which have been translated into 21 languages and sold over a million copies around the world. Wade chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, as a pen name to honor the working poor Ozarks seamstress whose sacrifices changed his family’s life and whose memory inspires his fiction.
Wade’s books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show, Michigan Notable Books of the Year and Indie Next Picks. He lives in Michigan and California, and hosts Wine & Words with Wade, A Literary Happy Hour, every Thursday.
How To Kill Men And Get Away With It is horrifically comical! Narrated by a woman killing men, in a sincere unapologetic voice, who by the way, the reader will fall in love with and root for as she takes us on her “spree”. It’s so sadistic that it’s fun!
Kitty Collins is an influencer whose best friends are all influencers. She is very rich and is very polite to her followers, although she doesn’t really care about them. But the one thing she has a distaste for is men who treat women badly. This unfortunately stems from her terrible childhood where she learned a few things. Although she does try to control her urges, she just can’t seem to stop killing them. And she’s good at it.
She always gets away with it.
What started out innocent enough has become a second job. After she takes care of a man who ghosted one of her best friends, she decides to put herself on a dating app and be the Robin Hood of the broken-hearted. Not that anyone asked her to.
Kitty does have a few problems. She has an on-line stalker who seems to allude to the fact they know what she is doing, which kind of annoys her. How could they know? Also, she has just started dating a philanthropist named Charlie who she begins to fall for, the first since her disastrous last relationship which ended up with her ex cheating on her. This can be quite the downer when you’re kind of killing men and he comes knocking at your door!
But Kitty is smart and is able to juggle her two separate lives. Until she makes a mistake and kills an innocent person. Oops! So she goes into therapy, leaving a few things out of course!
All Kitty really wants is a normal life with someone she adores and who is good to her. And she has definitely found that in Charlie, but there is still one unfinished job she must do before she retires and when things start to go wrong, she is worried this will all blow up on her face!
How To Kill Men And Get Away With It is simply an entertaining read, yes, about murder, but you can’t help but laugh out loud at Kitty’s great adventure! I must say, author Katy Brent killed it!
Thank you #NetGalley # HarperCollins #HowToKillMenAndGetAwayWithIt #KatyBrent for the advanced copy.
You Can Trust Me is a con game gone crazy! You root for the crooks who are two lifelong scammers whose newest ruse turns into a stunningly horrible mess. Filled with unexpectedness, sadness and an incredibly exciting storyline this thriller will take over your life as you impatiently wait to find out the truth…who is really conning who?
Summer and Leo are nomads. That is the two women live off the grid in Summer’s Land Cruiser scamming anybody and everybody in order to pay their bills and survive. Summer is older than Leo and treats her like the younger sister she never had. She has taught Leo everything she has learned about ripping people off. Summer had a very unconventional upbringing whose mother was a wandering gypsy type. Summer not only never knew her father but didn’t even know her last name or her birthday. Her mother “released her” to the universe when she was very young, and Summer grew up fast and learning how to survive.
Leo ran away from home after her happy home-life turned tragic. When the two met they knew they were kindred spirits and have worked together for five years. But Leo is getting antsy and wants to take their work outside of California. Summer is not so sure as she doesn’t even have a Social Security card.
Enter IT billionaire Michael Forrester. Leo feels like she can create the ultimate con by making him fall for her and if he does there is no limit to the amount of money and items she can take from him. Summer is unsure and warns Leo this may be a bit over her head, but with Leo insisting, her only advice to her be careful.
So, Leo sets up an accidental meeting with Forrester who she finds not only nerdly handsome but sweet and kind who wants to give her the world on a silver platter. But when he invites her to his private island for the weekend because he has a business seminar going on and wants to be with her as well, she jumps at the chance. Without informing Summer she heads off to what she thinks will be the best weekend of her life.
And then Leo disappears.
When Summer doesn’t hear from Leo, she realizes that something has gone terribly wrong. As she retraces Leo’s steps, she discovers the plan to go to his private island. So, Summer takes it upon herself to con her way to the island to search for her friend. But right from the start something doesn’t feel right. Cell phones are taken away and there is no boat or air service back to the mainland until the end of the weekend. But most importantly, there is no sign of Leo.
As Summer begins to try and track her friend, she begins to see people are hiding information and lying. But why? When she finally finds proof that at some point Leo was on the island, unfortunately it’s too late. She’s been found out and must now use every tool in her arsenal to learn if Leo is still alive or has conned her and left for better swindles.
And that’s when You Can Trust Me becomes a rollercoaster ride gone wrong and the reader begins to anxiously await getting off the ride. With so many highs and lows and shocking revelations the pit in your stomach will not go away until you are finally off the island…I mean, the ride! Grab this exciting nail biter of a book as soon as you can. I’m not trying to con you!
Thank you #NetGalley #Bantam #WendyHeard #YouCanTrustMe for the advanced copy.
When Lari Ramires’ grandmother dies after a short illness her family’s bakery Salt which had been struggling to begin with is now passed down to her mother who is a widow and is completely overwhelmed with work and bills. With all this happening their tiny neighborhood of Olinda in Brazil is being stalked by a superstore which is trying to drive all the small businesses out of town.
To add to the anxiety, their rival shop across the street, Sugar, who Pedro Molina’s family owns, and who is Lari’s nemesis as the families have been at war for decades, seems to be spreading terrible rumors about Salt and jobs are being cancelled.
You see, years ago the two bakeries had been one but there was a terrible falling out between the two families and they separated and not only have never spoken again, but take any opportunity to insult each other.
But now that Lari’s grandmother is gone and she wants to help her mother in the bakery, her mother will not have it. She insists Lari be the first Ramires to go to college and go into accounting just as her father did. But Lari does not want this. She wants to bake, but not only does she not know how, she’s can’t even boil water!
When Lari and Pedro suddenly find themselves in an after-school cooking class, where Pedro is the leader things begin to change. The two rivals suddenly find themselves talking (behind their families backs) and learning that they may actually like each other. As they work together, secretly knowing their families would kill them, they soon discover each of the bakeries are at risk of closing.
They concoct a plan to try and save both their bakeries. But unfortunately, the history of the families continues to haunt them. They don’t quite trust each other completely and must somehow work together with this realization. They know what they are about to do will certainly cause chaos in both families, but they are determined to somehow pull it off.
What will happen when the families find out what they are doing? These two families are always on the verge of punishing each other! To know their children are not only speaking but are friends would be devastating. What will they do to Lari and Pedro? Will they ever be allowed to see each other again? They have been through so much separately and together and learned so many lessons they don’t want to never see each other again!
Salt and Sugar is a story of dreams, determination and learning to be who you are. It shows how in some instances children are thrown into adult issues without really understanding why. It explains how just one tiny embarrassing moment can change someone’s life forever. But the true moral of the story is forgiveness.
Pamela Kelley’s novel The Bookshop by the Bay not only is a wonderful testament to friendship, family, friends, love and books, but quite the homage to the other character lurking in the background of the beautiful story…Cape Cod! Kelley gets everything right about why not only Chatham, MA is so glorious, but Cape Cod in general!
Alison works as a magazine writer in Chatham. But unfortunately, because everything seems to be going online, they have lost subscribers and need to downsize the office. Alison has been saved this round, but realizes her days are numbered. She is divorced but her best friend is her ex-husband, Chris. They have a daughter Julia who owns a jewelry shop in Chatham and is beginning to become known. Although she seems content with her life, she realizes that she needs to figure out a new path.
Jess is Alison’s childhood best friend. She is an attorney at her husband’s family’s law firm in Charleston. She has always gone to visit Alison for a few weeks in the summer but has missed the last few years. When her marriage is shockingly turned into turmoil and her daughter Caitlin loses her job as well as her boyfriend all in the same day, she knows they need to get away to somewhere they can both decompress and relax.
They decide to head to Chatham for a month to see her mother and Alison. She needs to sort her life out and needs the comfort of family and friends as she tries to make the most difficult decisions of her life.
And that’s the beginning of when all their lives start to change.
Alison discovers the local owner of the Chatham bookstore, a staple in her life since she was a child is being sold, she decides she must somehow save it. And when Jess agrees, they become business partners in the endeavor. But trying to sustain a bookstore, while still working part-time and coming up with creative ideas on how to make money and get people excited to come into the shop is not easy. But with the help of their family and friends they begin to actually succeed in getting patrons excited.
As the summer season starts to wind down and Jess knows she must go back to Charlston and salvage that part of her life, she can’t help but question where she truly belongs. Coming back to Cape Cod has given her a gift she never asked for…peace.
Filled with interesting relatable characters, imaginative picturesque scenery and a wonderful storyline, The Bookshop by the Bay will have you not only eating up (pun intended) this delicious story but wishing to book a trip to this charming seaside town. Long live The Lobster Pot!
Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPressGriffin #TheBookshopbytheBay #PamelaKelley for the advanced copy.
This story is Phaedra Patrick at her best! With a lovely, heartwarming story, characters you fall in love with and imagery you need to see in real life, you won’t be able to put the book down! It takes the reader down the rabbit hole of what happens when you lose your identity because it has always been attached to someone else. What happens when your perfect marriage is not so perfect anymore. What happens when you begin to think about yourself rather than everyone else?
Ginny Splinter seems to have it all. A popular self-help radio host who is adored by her fans, always giving solid advice, a husband, Adrien who she adores who she’s been married to for almost twenty-five years, and a daughter, Phoebe, the light of their lives who is planning her own wedding, what more could one person ask for? And Ginny has a surprise for her husband. She has booked a romantic Italian getaway at a little hotel to celebrate their anniversary. So, as she is on air excitedly waiting to go home and tell him, she is shocked when a caller, Miss Peach asks her how well she knows her husband. She adds she should be cautious of him. This must be some prank.
But Ginny’s fairytale turns into a horrible nightmare when she confronts Adrien, and he tells her he doesn’t want to be married anymore. He says he needs his space. She tells him about the trip, and he says to cancel, but unfortunately, she can’t. Although Ginny seems to be good at giving advice when it comes to herself, she’s a mess.
So, with Adrien out of the picture and her going to Italy alone, she decides to use her radio show and ask her listeners if anyone is heartbroken call in for a chance to go on a free trip to Italy.
With that she finds four people who begin a journey with her which will change all their lives forever. Eric is quiet and in mourning for the loss of his dog. Heather can’t accept the fact that she is losing her mother. Enda, the oldest has lost both her daughter and husband and is at a crossroads in her life. Curtis, well they can’t figure out why he’s even here.
But first they must check into this little quaint Italian hotel run by a father and his teenage daughter, which seems to be stuck in year’s past. Unlike bigger hotels, it is very simple. But it has beautiful ambiance, and the group enjoys not only the relaxed atmosphere, but their hosts. Unfortunately, they all don’t really expect much. But what seems to happen is they begin to open up to each other, try things they would never have done before, listen and begin to fall in love with each other, their surroundings and most important, themselves.
Ginny finds herself growing stronger by the day and looking at her life and her husband differently. She never imagined a life without Adrien, but now although she still loves him sees her life could be different. With trips to Venice and Florence and the beauty they are surrounded by, who could not change! They all seem to find solace in this little Italian Hotel and each other.
The story is filled with love, friendship, hope, heartbreak and moving forward. The messages are empowering as these strangers who become family find a new strength to take their next steps and begin life anew.
Have some tissues handy because this truly is a story you will never want to forget and never want to end.
Thank you #NetGalley #ParkRow #PhaedraPatrick #TheLittleItalianHotel for the advanced copy.
Ghost At The Table is a poignant, wonderful read filled with mystery and intrigue with decades long family secrets as well as multiple love stories which span eras.
Sam is a writer who has decided to write a story based on her grandfather’s time as a bomber serving in an air crew during World War 2. He was named Ralph George Page and was killed in action with several others when the plane they were flying in was shot down in a small town in France. She knew the story well, listening to her grandmother tell it as well as her mother. But, as she begins to go through her late grandmother’s correspondence, she can’t help but ask some questions. Although life after her grandfather died was difficult, her grandmother was able to find love again and her mother Rosemary and her aunt Sylivia were well taken care of.
So, Sam, who is having relationship issues with her married boyfriend of years, decides this would be the best time to not only get away from him, but also travel with her best friend Lizzie to the place where the tragedy happened, poke around, see where her grandfather is buried and find out if anybody is still alive who witnessed the crash to give her a description of just what happened.
But when Sam meets someone who witnessed the accident, she begins to have more questions than answers. A father and daughter saw the wreckage. Although the daughter Victoria had passed, her husband Raoul is still alive but refuses to speak with her to give her details of what his wife had seen.
The deeper Sam delves into the mystery, the less sure she is she truly wants to find the answers. She discovers her grandmother had been keeping secrets and although she seems to have all of her correspondence, it looks as if some are missing. Why?
In the meantime, she discovers her grandmother was not the only one keeping secrets as she finds out her boyfriend had a few himself which rattle’s Sam’s soul. How could she have been so stupid?
Then, all the pieces come together, and Sam finds out the truth as to what really happened to her grandfather. She can’t seem to write it down, to the angst of her editor because she realizes the can of worms which will open when her family finds out. But, although she knows all their lives will be changed forever, she needs them to know just who this mysterious dead person their family has cherished and missed all these years really was and that they should still be proud of him as he still sits at the head of their table.
Ghost At The Table is a love story, a mystery with many surprises and a powerful reminder of what our military endured and still endures as they keep us safe from harm.
Thank you #NetGalley #Matador #GhostAtTheTable #SandyJones for the advanced copy.
The Wishing Game is beautiful and uplifting. It’s filled with the trials of life while wishing for dreams which seem unattainable. But, throughout is acceptance and love and well, magic!
Jack Masterson is the Mastermind in a collection of children’s books, although he has not written one in decades. He lives on an island, the real Clock Island which his stories are based on. So popular were the books that children from all over would write to him with their wishes and some even tried to get to his Island. The books are loved by all, but Jack has been unable to continue them. He lives on the secluded island with the illustrator of the series, Hugo Reese who is very worried about Jack. Hugo feels it’s time to move on but can’t leave until he knows Jack will be ok. Hugo knows all of Jack’s secrets which makes him even more worried about leaving.
Lucy Hart is a teacher’s aide. She loves her job and especially one of her students, a young boy named Christopher Lamb whose parents died tragically and is in foster care with an overwhelmed couple dealing with their own children. Lucy desperately wants to foster him or even adopt Christopher, but she is monetarily in no position to do so. Although she has parents and a sister, she left them years ago as her childhood was filled with always feeling left out of her family and very unimportant to them. Her sister, who had been very sickly was most important to the family and Lucy was an afterthought, being shuffled to live with her grandparents. The only thing which got her through these times were the Clock Island books by Jack Masterson. And she has passed her love of these to Christopher in hopes he too can feel the love which exudes from the stories.
And then to everyone’s surprise, it is announced that Jack Masterson has written another Clock Island book. Not only that but he is having a contest and is inviting five lucky people to the Island to play some games, and the winner will get the only copy of the new book to do with what they wish.
And Lucy gets one of the coveted invitations! Now, she and Christopher may actually have a chance of becoming a family!
As the games immediately start, the contestants begin to learn more about Jack and his Island, but they also begin to learn more about themselves. With each person desperately wanting to win, tensions run high, and each challenge becomes more stressful and personal as they reach deeper into the contestant’s own childhoods, much to Lucy’s angst.
So, Lucy’s dilemma becomes one of heartache. Does she revisit her sad and lonely childhood or does she challenge herself in hopes of adopting Christopher. But her one fear is she will never be the mother he truly needs because of her own past.
Sometimes it’s the personal challenges one must overcome in order to win, even if sometimes the material prize is lost. Who will win? And what is Jack Masterson’s real prize?
The Wishing Game is masterful, full of charm, difficult issues and uncomfortable decisions, but in the end just as in one of the Clock Island books, a lesson to be well learned.
Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #TheWishingGame #MegShaffer for the advanced copy.
Lisa's Cubby 