The Clover Girls is a wonderful story, although heartbreaking story about the reconnecting of a group of girls who met during their first night of summer camp years ago. Be prepared for tears…yours!
Veronica (V), Rachel, Emily and Elizabeth (Liz) met at Camp Birchwood back in the 1980’s. Dubbed the “Clover Girls” because when they met they were all feeling lonely and lost, and found a four-leaf clover in a field that very night and knew they would be friends forever.
Through their camp years all their lives would have tragedies and mishaps which would mold them into the individuals they became. There were also fights among them and deceits and hurt which, although apologized for, perhaps were never really forgiven.
Now over thirty years later when they all have their own lives and have not seen each other in years, and perhaps are not in the best place they want to be, decisions each has made along the way maybe not the best, families not the closest, careers wished for years ago which never happened, and some regrets, they each receive a devastating letter from Emily which will throw the Clover Girls back together for the very last time.
According to Emily’s letter, her wish is for them to reunite one last time at the now defunct Camp Birchwood to say goodbye. If they are able to mend their differences and stay the week at the camp certain affairs will come to fruition. If not, they can say their goodbyes forever.
Now the women must decide to either work on their disastrous relationships and forgive each other and move on as the best friends they were, or walk away from each other. Unfortunately they must try to heal the wounds from those many years ago which have shaped them into who they are today.
Will they be able to accomplish what Emily’s letter has requested? Or are these women too involved in their current personal situations to even attempt reconciliations with each other. Perhaps with a little help from Emily, they can try and put their pasts aside and rather than go back to the girls they once were, become the strong and independent women with deep friendships Emily always knew they could be, but were too self absorbed to see years ago.
Once again Viola Shipman has created an uplifting and empowering story about a group of women whose lives are changed for the better. The story is filled with love, and some sadness, but with a theme of hope that not only can relationships change for the better, but one can change their own destiny at any age.
As comforting and familiar as a favorite sweater, Viola Shipman’s novels never fail to deliver a heartfelt story of friendship and familty, encapsulating summer memories in every page. Fans of Dorthea Benton Frank and Nancy Thayer will love this new story about three childhood friends approaching middle age, determined to rediscover the dreams that made them special as campers in 1985.
Elizabeth, Veronica, Rachel and Emily met at Camp Birchwood as girls in 1985, where they called themselves The Clover Girls (after their cabin name). The years following that magical summer pulled them in very different directions and, now approaching middle age, the women are facing new challenges: the inevitable physical changes that come with aging, feeling invisible to society, disinterested husbands, surley teens, and losing their sense of self.
Then, Elizabeth, Veronica and Rachel each receive a letter from Emily – she has cancer and, knowing it’s terminal, reaches out to the girls who were her best friends once upon a time and implores them to reunite at Camp Birchwood to scatter her ashes. When the three meet at the property for the first time in what feels like a lifetime, another letter from Emily awaits, explaining that she has purchased the abandoned camp, and now it belongs to them – at Emily’s urging, they must spend a week together remembering the dreams they’d put aside, and find a way to become the women they always swore they’d grow up to be. Through flashbacks to their youthful summer, we see the four friends then and now, rebuilding their lives, flipping a middle finger to society’s disdain for aging women, and with a renewed purpose to find themselves again.
Viola Shipman is the pen name for Wade Rouse, a popular, award-winning memoirist. Rouse chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, to honor the woman whose heirlooms and family stories inspire his writing. Rouse is the author of The Summer Cottage, as well as The Charm Bracelet and The Hope Chest which have been translated into more than a dozen languages and become international bestsellers. He lives in Saugatuck, Michigan and Palm Springs, California, and has written for People, Coastal Living, Good Housekeeping, and Taste of Home, along with other publications, and is a contributor to All Things Considered.
Jenny Lawson has many things. She has anxiety and depression. She has many physical illnesses. She has OCD. She has a long suffering husband named Victor. They have a daughter. None of these define this woman who writes honestly and incredibly humorously about all of the above. Not one to shy away for ANY embarrassing situation, her books of essays are like manna to people who also suffer from illness, not just the ones mentioned above. Not only is she relatable, but she makes people who suffer feel not as alone.
Reading Lawson’s book with a smile on your face feels like an oxymoron. The chapters always deal with serious issues, such as her not wanting to leave her hotel room when she is on book tour, but you laugh because she tries to take the stigma out of her fear and make it funny in the best possible way. She explains how it is possible to lose just one shoe, six different times in different ways.
She tries to push the reader to embrace their illness and try to look at it lightheartedly. But most importantly, she tries to make them realize they are not alone. And if YOU think you are having a hard time coping, well just listen to this! She certainly does not sugar coat her situations, but she surely does find herself in some comical circumstances.
In one essay about her marriage, she addresses everyone’s admiration for her husband Victor and his undying love for her. But she explains to the reader that the secret to there long marriage is that neither of them has the energy to divorce!
In another chapter she gives reasons why due to her anxiety she no longer attends any type of party, with an absolutely hysterical list of things she has said while attending such gatherings.
In Awkwarding Brings Us Together she explains how she once tweeted out something silly and embarrassing she had just said and within minutes had replies from hundreds of people who have had that same cringe worthy experience. One example is “A friend thanked me for coming to her husband’s funeral. My reply? Anytime.” I must have read this essay at least twice laughing harder each time.
But the one essay which was not so funny was her insightful open letter to her insurance company in which she explains how she has had difficulty getting medication paid for even though they agree with the diagnosis, or how an experimental treatment may very well help her, but her illness is not that far along. She tells of the hoops they make her jump only to be in the same position as when she started She writes of being denied a medication only to be told months later she should be on the medication only to be denied the medication. She somberly ends with how lucky she is to be able to afford the medications she has been denied and feels for those who are unable to do the same.
Is it bad that I don’t want Jenny Lawson to not be Broken? Her incredible insight into the feelings of people with anxiety, the humor she shares with us when she laughs at herself, the lessons she does not even realize she teaches gives one hope. Hope of looking at situations much differently. Hope of getting better. Hope of not feeling self-conscious. Hope of not being broken. Thank you Jenny!
Thank you #NetGalley #HenryHoltandCo #JennyLawson #Broken for the advanced copy.
Jennifer McMahon, author of The Invited, has once again created a ghoulish, eerie story about two families whose lives, although generations apart, come together and intertwine to tell a tale of what people will do to save the ones they love while knowing there may be terrible consequences.
In the present, Jax is a social worker who helps children. As a child, she herself wishes there was someone who could have saved her from the turmoil of her family. She has a sister, Lexie, whose mental illness basically ruled their lives as children. Lexie now lives alone in their late grandmother’s Vermont house, just one reason for Jaxs’ resentment of her sister because the house was left to Lexie, not both of them. As of late they have not been close, but when Lexie starts calling Jax and leaving manic messages, Jax thinks its just Lexie off her meds.
But unfortunately, Jax learns much too late that was not the case. Lexie is found dead, drowned in the swimming pool on the property. Now Jax must face the guilt of not having heeded the signs that Lexie was in terrible trouble. She must now go back to the house for Lexie’s memorial and to get Lexie’s personal belongings in order, a task she does not want as the memories of their lives together there were filled with chaos and even at times sinister.
After she settles back into the house, she discovers Lexie had actually been quite obsessed with the history of the property, especially the pool. Through the years there had been a series of drownings in the pool, including her grandmother’s young sister. Suddenly Jax begins to think she sees and hears her sister. She believes Lexie is trying to tell her something, but she cannot understand what. Is she too going crazy?
In 1929 Ethel Monroe, married to Doctor Will Monroe has been trying to get pregnant for over a year, but with no success. Ethel hears of a hotel in Vermont where there are natural springs which have been known to help people who are damaged in some way, heal. She hears stories of people who cannot walk, entering the springs and miraculously walking out on their own accord. She decides to vacation there with her husband, not telling him the real reason she wants to go. She wants to try and wish for a baby in the springs.
Amazingly she gets pregnant! But the baby, who is a girl, is born very ill and they are told will not live the year. Ethel believes the only way to cure her child is by taking her to what is left of the springs as there was a terrible fire and the hotel was burned to the ground. But the scientist in Will does not believe in this type of hocus pocus. Ethel cannot watch their child die. She decides to try on her own to get the water from the springs. But will this work?
And as the two plots collide what emerges are family secrets, startling revelations, ghostly visions and a completely unexpected ending which answers all the questions. The Drowning Kind is an exceptionally haunting read in more ways than one!
Thank you #NetGalley #Gallery/ScoutPress #JenniferMcMahon #TheDrowningKind for the advanced copy.
In Simpson’s candidly brutal honest book she details her life-long struggles from being sexually abused as a young child, to becoming addicted to alcohol and drugs. She spares no embarrassment as to how her love life became an addiction as well, one which kept her coming back for more and more verbal and psychological abuse. But, she also describes the moment she realized she needed help and was able to come out of the despair as a new perfectly imperfect person and be ok with that.
But throughout the book while giving us these glimpses into her life, she also tells very funny stories, her misuse of words, the sticking her foot in her mouth and oops moments. As deep as her dark moments may get, there are many lighthearted stories which make you smile intertwined.
She begins the book at the end, telling the reader she has come out the other side of her addictions and despair, then proceeds to explain from the beginning how it all began. First being sexually abused by a family friend at such a young age she did not even know there was a name for it, to the most pivotal moment in her teens when her cousin Sarah, a mentor to her and someone she aspired to be just like, was killed in an auto accident. With her death Simpson devoted (and still does) her life to honoring Sarah’s memory.
She also writes of her love of God and how her strength is always drawn through him. The daughter of a preacher, she has kept her deep faith no matter what choices she has made. And has never blamed Him for any of her bad choices. If anything she credits Him for those choices as it made her who she is today.
By keeping journals from a young age she was able to go back and look at what she had been thinking and why she made the decisions in her life at the time. In one journal entry she writes of meeting Nick Lachey and thinking he was going to be the man she married, even though their age difference years and would unfortunately be one of the reasons for their break-up.
She gives us a candid glimpse into her not so healthy relationship with musician John Mayer, who seemed to play with her head time and time again and added to her low self esteem, something which would come into play over and over when people would comment on her weight or her looks or her choices.
But this “dumb blonde” was not really very dumb. About ten years ago she created a clothing line which has branched out into a billion dollar brand. With the help of her mother and close group of friends whom she trusts, and therapy, she has been able to pick up the pieces of her life, figure out ways to change those negative feelings and be more present in the life of family and friends, but especially in her own life.
Although she knows she is not perfect and never will be and will always be a work in progress (as we all are), she does give sage advice as to how to not make the mistakes she has and that if you do need help, seek it.
Open Book was a sad yet funny yet uplifting story about an innocent girl’s journey from a young age who was able to grow-up into a strong woman, wife and mother with a little help from her friends, family and therapy.
The reading of The Lost Village is as haunting and frightening a story as any M. Night Shyamalan movie I have ever seen!
Alice Lindstedt is attempting to film a documentary about a “lost village” where it seems overnight all of its residence just disappeared. Years later, still no one can figure out what occurred in this small sleepy village. But the mystery is quite personal to Alice. Her grandmother was from there. She had married and left just before the mass exodus. She too had no idea what happened to her family who stayed behind. Although she told Alice tales about the people and her relatives, she needed to find out more.
When Alice and her small crew arrive, it seems as if time had just stood still those many years ago; dishes in sinks, a coffee cup and plate on a table, laundry half folded. They seem to be witnessing the eerie remnants of a lost community. What could have happened to all those people? Although they are excited to wander the empty village in hopes of clues, there is also an unnatural feeling attached to many of the structures perhaps as if the village is watching them.
And when they do begin to investigate those feelings begin to become reality. Episodes of not feeling alone, of being watched and shadow figures all start to rattle the well-being of the team. Are they real or just in their imaginations. Then this uncomfortableness turns into reality as there is an explosion and they are now trapped in the village.
It is then they realize they really may not be alone, that someone or something wants to do them serious harm, perhaps kill them. But who? Is it one of them? They find refuge in the church where they begin to learn more about the villagers and especially the very animated and hypnotic pastor whom most seemed to love. They learn of a young woman’s mysterious pregnancy whose child’s birth becomes just another puzzle to the team.
They begin to become paranoid, not being able to trust each other only to finally come to an incredible realization. With that understanding comes the explosive, intense and shocking ending you could not see coming. The Lost Village is a terrific suspenseful horror story with a build-up of palpable anxiety which ends with an astonishing finish. This story should only be read with the lights on…trust me!
Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #TheLostVillge #CamillaSten for the advanced copy.
Lexi and Jake live in an ordinary house with their two children. They struggle to make ends meet. They struggle to give their children the best they can. They have a group of friends others would be enviable of. They have been through births, deaths, happy and significant times in each other’s lives. They even still get together once a week after all these years of friendship. They also play the weekly lottery together as a group and imagine what it would be like if they actually won. What they would buy? Where they would go and what they would give to charity?
But that all changes one Saturday night when the group gets into an argument and two of the couples decide they don’t want to play the lottery anymore, and it seems don’t want to even associate with Lexi and Jake. Heartbroken, Lexi and Jake decide to play the lottery numbers alone, and they win! But even before they get to enjoy the excitement of what comes with winning millions in a lottery, their friends decide they are entitled to some of the winnings.
And thus begins not only the unraveling of years long friendships, but secrets, deceits, lies and hidden agendas which had been hidden for many years. As the group breaks apart, their children who have been friends since birth must decide whose side they are taking. And some of them decide to take their jealousy a bit too far.
Jake and Lexi try to adjust to a life of not worrying about money and spending as fast as they can (well, mostly Jake), Lexi believes in giving back, something she seems to be trying to convince her husband to do. Greed swiftly begins to take over. As does the harassment from people trying to cheat them out of money.
And when the family decides to have an extravagantly lavish party at their new mansion, something incomprehensible occurs during the celebration which tears the families apart. Is all this money worth the jeopardy? When the dust finally settles and they get to the bottom of who was the mastermind, the shocking revelation and the accumulation of all the lies blow up and leave everyone horrified, revolted and traumatized.
Just My Luck is a story with a moral. Be careful what you wish for. It shows the evil side of what could happen with instant wealth and the greed with which some will go to receive their just rewards. And then there are those in which no amount of money will ever make them happy. The ending is both astounding and impressive.
Book Summary:
Adele Parks has brought her #1 Sunday Times sensation, JUST MY LUCK (MIRA Trade Paperback; April 6, 2021; $17.99) to the US!
Be careful what you wish for…
After spending happy hours, parenting classes and barbeques together for the last 15 years, Lexi and Jake Greenwood have celebrated and shared almost everything with the Pearsons and the Heathcotes, including their lottery numbers. Then one night, the unthinkable happens. Someone has been telling lies – lies dark enough to burn bridges and tear the tight group of friends apart. When the Greenwoods win a stunning $23 million in the lottery with their group’s numbers shortly after their dramatic falling out, the Heathcotes and Pearsons believe they’re entitled to part of the prize… and the three couples will do anything to claim what is theirs.
Reader beware: the last chapter will change everything.
A compulsively readable portrait of the fragility of friendship, the corrosiveness of sudden wealth, and the dark side of good luck, Adele Parks’ latest domestic thriller will make you think twice about trying your hand at the lottery.Â
Adele Parks is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of twenty novels, including Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck, as well as I Invited Her In. Just My Luck is currently in development to be made into a movie. Her novels have sold 4 million copies in the UK alone, and her work has also been translated into thirty-one languages.
Q: How much research do you do before beginning to write a book? Do you go to locations, ride with police, go to see an autopsy, etc.
A: For me, one of the best things about being a writer is that I get to poke around in so many different worlds. I am not limited to my own career or viewpoint. I can – and do – research so many other professions, lifestyles, businesses or scenarios. Over the years, I have shadowed people who worked in the TV industry, teachers, police, florists, charity workers, bankers, photographers, prison wardens, librarians…I pride myself on being as thorough as possible in my research, especially if someone else’s profession is involved. For example, with my novels that have any crime procedure included, I interview police people, I visit their places of work and I also ask them to read over the parts of the novel that relate to their world. It’s critical to me that I not only get the facts spot on, but also nail the tone of voice and language that might be used. For Just My Luck I worked closely with some people who work at the British lottery company, I also interviewed lottery winners.
I often join forums and support groups that relate to my plotlines, it’s a great way to research. I have joined forums for people who have won the lottery, others where the objective is to support alcoholics, forums for Alzheimer’s sufferers and those who care for them, and for people with rare specific genetic diseases. I always declare that I am an author doing research, because I think it’s only fair that people know who they are sharing with. I find people who have been through these challenging life situations are often looking to tell their stories.
I always visit the locations where I set my novels and become familiar with them. I research in galleries, museums and libraries too. I’m certain I’ll never attend an autopsy though; I’m fairly squeamish!
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?
A: First and foremost, I am a reader. I always have a book with me and most of my down time you will find me with my nose buried. I am also a big fan of upscaling furniture. I enjoy mooching around junk shops, vintage fairs and eBay. I am always buying bits of old furniture, which I then, strip, paint, stain, or have re-upholstered etc. I love finding something that is past it’s best and no longer loved, then breathing new life into it. I really value having unique one-off pieces, that have a story behind them, in my home. I also enjoy walking and practicing yoga.
Q: Do you write under one name for all books across genres or do you have other AKA’s?
A: I write under my name all the time, no matter what genre. Looking back, I’m not sure this was my smartest marketing move. Maybe I should have written my historical novels (IF YOU GO AWAY and SPARE BRIDES) under a pseudonym as they are set during WW1 and the 1920s and quite a different feel from all my other novels which are contemporary. However, even within my contemporary novels I’ve written in different genres – from romantic comedy to dark psychological thrillers and domestic noir. If I’d had a different name for each genre that might have got confusing too! I can see an advantage of writing under a different name. It might have saved my blushes; some of my novels are quite steamy in places and when my son was younger, the school gate was sometimes a little awkward if the other mums were reading my novels!
Q: Do you have pets?
A: I have a moggy cat; her name is Lilac. She’s 10 years old and much adored! Sadly, she’s not really keen on giving or receiving affection; her area of expertise is looking incredible and treating the humans in her family with disdain. She’s quite a loud cat and ‘chats’ to me a lot which is fun!
Q: What’s your favorite part of writing suspense?
A: I’m a great fan of the plot! I do pride myself on rather unexpected but utterly believable reveals and twists. The intellectual challenge of constructing plots is unquestionably my favorite part of writing. The best suspense novels continually astonish and defy the reader until the final page. How great is it when we think we’re heading in one direction, but the author spins us around and takes us somewhere else? That’s what I like to achieve, action that appeals to sharp, inquisitive minds.
I also love taking my readers on an emotional ride. It’s undoubtedly compelling for readers to track a seemingly ordinary family and then watch as something exceptional happens when they’re placed under extraordinary stress. I believe we’re all capable of horrendous actions under the right – maybe that should be wrong – circumstances. A fascination with darkness is part of being human. We all have light and dark in us but we’re not heartless, books provide a safe environment to explore these different lives without ruining our own or anyone else’s.
Q: Do you prefer reading and/or writing suspense with elements of romance? Why or why not?
A: I don’t think I mind whether there is romance in a book or not, but I do need relationships of some kind. Without a doubt, the most important thing in life is my relationships with people, yes my romantic relationship – now limited as I’m married 😉 – but also my relationship with my son, my parents, sister, friends. For me, in real life, stakes are always highest when my relationships are threatened in some way, or when the people I love are in turmoil or jeopardy. I do not think I’m alone in this. Ultimately, the vast majority of us prioritize relationships over fame, money or career. I believe we are defined by who we love and who we are loved by. Therefore, in the suspense novels I write, I use relationships as a device that heightens the drama and the potential threat. Suspense novels do not have to be full of blood and dead bodies (although they can be!). I think the most successful ones are those where the reader feels a sense of familiarity and connection with the characters or environment. We believe the story really could happen, and most awfully, it could happen to us. For me, the best suspense looks at the horror that goes on in seemingly normal everyday families.
Q: From the books you’ve written or read, who has been your favorite villain and why?
A: What a great question, I’ve never been asked it before. Thinking about it now though, I realize I’m not a fan of the villain. I’m always rooting for the goodie, I guess I’m secretly very square. I do like writing villains though, possibly because they get to say all the harsh one-liners that I only ever think up way after the efficacy has passed! Villains are dangerous, extreme and usually selfish or cruel. They are also quite often glamourous and charismatic, so definitely fun to write.
Q: What was your inspiration behind the book?
A: A friend of mine works for the lottery company in the UK. He was telling me fun stories about what winners spend on, what their reactions were to hearing the news they’ve won, how the lottery company has a duty of care towards the winners etc. It was all fascinating. Then he just casually commented, ‘We always offer to arrange security for their children if the win is seriously big’. I found that so interesting. Imagine, the best moment of your life, being handed a check for millions and then suddenly realizing your family were now at risk in a way they never had been before. That was the moment I thought, I really need to write about this!
Thank you #NetGalley #MIRA #AdeleParks #JustMyLuck for the advanced copy. You can purchase the book now at the links below:
In 1926 mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared without a trace for 11 days. There were massive man-hunts and front page headlines as to what could possibly have happened to her. Rumors swirled that her marriage was breaking down, although her husband denied the claims. And then she came back claiming amnesia. But, for the rest of her life Christie never spoke of those missing days, (not even in her own autobiography).
Enter historical fiction writer Marie Benedict and through her impeccable research creates a very interesting explanation as to what could have possibly been the reason for the sudden disappearance. Christie vanished at a volatile period in her life with her mother having recently passed away and not long prior becoming aware of her husband’s infidelity. Could it be possible that these pressures could have given way to Christie’s heightened anxiety and caused some sort of a breakdown?
Benedict’s amazing fictional account at attempting to recreate what could possibly have happened and why is written in two time frames, the first being Christie’s tumultuous marriage to her husband Archie and their seemingly different bond with their daughter Rosalind, from their first meeting up until the day she disappeared, as well as Archie’s reaction to his wife’s untimely disappearance just as he was planning to leave her. Could Archie possibly have known more than he was telling the police?
What we do know is that whatever happened in those 11 days made Christie a stronger writer and she was able to create her greatest masterpieces upon her return.
The compelling theory Benedict gives as to why Agatha Christie disappeared is incredibly intriguing and although this book is a bit of a departure from her other historical fiction novels, nevertheless it is just as gripping. And true to form she has picked another strong historical woman’s story to tell.
Julie Carrick Dalton’s first novel Waiting for the Night Song has so many incredibly profound layers it makes it difficult to know where to begin a review of this truly deep and haunting story.
Years ago two best friends Cadie Kessler and Daniela Garcia, both very young spent a summer picking blueberries and writing down promises they made to each other. But something happened to them during that season which both traumatized them and ended their friendship.
But all that is about to change. A body has been discovered, dead for many years near their New Hampshire homes and Daniela’s father is being questioned as a possible suspect.
So when Cadie, now an entomologist forest researcher looking into the correlation of certain beetles and imminent forest fires receives a phone call from Daniela whom she has not seen since that summer, imploring her to come home because what they know is about to be become common knowledge, Cadie goes back because she knows both their worlds will explode if their involvement ever comes out.
But what Daniela is unaware of is that Cadie knows much more than she had ever shared. She knows everything and has bared the brunt of that understanding her whole life trying to protect her best friend. Or so she thought. Within the secrets and promises they had shared with each other are some no one can ever knew.
Now Cadie must make the toughest decision of her life. She must either tell the truth of what she knows or betray her best friend who she feels she is befriending again. And now Daniela has a young daughter that Cadie must consider as well.
This is not just a murder mystery. Within the novel there are threads which are resonating in our lives today. The novel delves into climate control and what that could possibly mean for our forests. It touches on collegiate schools not wanting to rock the boat by going all in when it comes to the problem for fear of losing funding. And that is not all. The book also probes the issues of the rights of immigrants, some who are illegal but have been here for decades.
Waiting for the Night Song seemingly has it all. From a fast paced mystery thriller to compelling thought provoking issues tackled beautifully, this is a story which forces the reader to think outside the box.
Thank you #NetGalley #ForgeBooks #WaitingfortheNightSong #JulieCarrickDalton for the advanced copy.
The Lost Manuscript is a beautiful uplifting story about a manuscript accidently misplaced and all the people whose lives were changed or inspired after reading it, including its own authors.
Told in letters, the story begins when Anne-Lise Briard finds a manuscript tucked away in a drawer in the hotel room she is staying in France. She finds a name and address within its pages and sends off a letter. She immediately falls in love with the story in the manuscript. She soon gets her reply by mail from the author who tells her he lost the manuscript over 30 years ago, but never completed the story so is unsure as to who or when the manuscript was completed.
Anne-Lise intrigued by the mystery makes it her mission to track down who finished the manuscript and how it ended up in the drawer. With few clues and a little help from old and new friends she begins a journey which will take her all over France, London and beyond.
During her investigation she will learn the manuscript has changed hands many times. How the power of the story and the way each person found the manuscript and how reading it affected them, giving them the strength they needed to endure lost love, heartaches and heartbreaks, new love and past love.
Along the way she too gains strength from their stories, some which were never suppose to be told, while learning how sometimes true love never dies, but is capable of finding its way back to where it always belonged.
The conclusion to this cleverly written book will both satisfy you and will certainly bring you to tears as the long journey of the lost manuscript falls into the hands of its rightful owners and finds its way home.
The latest installment in the Hannah Swensen series finds Lake Eden Mayor Bascomb, a notorious cheater and scammer, dead in his office after having a very heated exchange with Hannah’s sister Andrea. Unfortunately this makes her the prime suspect.
Andrea says she did go back to the Mayor’s office but to apologize and give him a piece of Hannah’s Triple Chocolate Cheesecake where she found him dead. With husband Bill unable to help with the murder investigation, it is up to Hannah to try and clear her sister’s name.
Hannah goes into case solving mode to try and find out what really happened. But with so many residents who live in town and others who have left who the Mayor has offended throughout the years, (including his wife), Hannah must begin the long process of eliminating suspects.
And while this investigation is going on, Hannah herself is very busy preparing for the Easter season at her cookie shop, The Cookie Jar. She has been experimenting with not only new cookie ideas, but cupcakes as well.
More importantly though, Hannah is still trying to come to grips with her husband’s murder and all that entailed while still unable to live at her condo where the murder took place. She is like a nomad moving from her mother’s apartment to her friend Norman’s house. Her life seems to be in quite a turmoil and now with the pressure to help her sister she feels as if she is in a fog.
Hopefully her head will clear long enough to solve this murder or she could be the killer’s next victim.
Once again, Joanne Fluke has written a wonderful cozy murder mystery with characters we all love and look forward to reading about to find out where they are headed next. And this book comes just in time for bakers everywhere looking for some new recipes! Sometimes it’s just nice to read a good old fashion who done it which features mouth watering recipes we can try once we catch the killer!
Thank you #NetGalley #Kensington #JoanneFluke #TripleChocolateCheesecakeMurder for the advanced copy.
Lisa's Cubby 