I received a e-copy of this novel from Ms. Eisenberg’s publicist and I was so excited to read it!
If you know me, you know I love theater and I especially love the “hey day” of theater and movies in the 1900’s. This was a story about the making of the musical Camelot with just the right blend of history and fiction to make it believable yet readable. I really liked the characters and enjoyed the story line. If you love Broadway theater, you’ll enjoy this one! Thank you for my copy!
Here’s the scoop:
What if the most conflicted lovers in Broadway’s Camelot aren’t Lancelot and Guenevere?
Set backstage during the out-of-town chaos of Lerner and Loewe’s now-classic 1960 musical, One More Seat at the Round Table portrays the struggles of feisty drama school grad Jane Conroy, who lands a plum Gal Friday job, and Bryce Christmas, a gifted, if insecure, actor on the verge of his big break. When Jane and Bryce fall helplessly in love during Toronto tryouts, their relationship is tested by mistakes they make and endless work woes: Camelot’s four-hour length, poor reviews, the illness of librettist Alan Jay Lerner, and the near-fatal coronary of director Moss Hart who quits.
As Lerner, composer Loewe, and their stars, Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, trudge on to Boston, doubts besiege Jane who hopes to buck convention and skip marriage and Bryce who wants a wife. They also discover hidden strengths as Jane gains agency backstage and Bryce takes charge of his talent. But will Jane’s commitment phobia derail their future? Will Camelot become a glittering hit? These questions create a tense roller-coaster ride to the end of Susan Dormady Eisenberg’s wise and witty novel, a story about the transformative power of love and the luminous pull of Broadway as it casts its spell on performers and fans alike.
I received a copy of this novel from Lyn Squire’s publicist. What an intriguing and fun read! I love Dickens and this story builds on his death and its cause, as well as the unfinished story of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Here’s the scoop:
Death strikes England’s foremost novelist, his latest tale only half told. Was he murdered because someone feared a ruinous revelation? Or was it revenge for some past misdeed? Set in the Kent countryside and London slums of 1870, Immortalised to Death embeds an ingenious solution to Charles Dickens’s unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood within the evolving and ultimately tragic consequences of a broader mystery surrounding the author himself. Debut author Lyn Squire kicks off his fascinating Dunston Burnett Trilogy with legendary Victorian novelist Charles Dickens dead at his desk, pen still in hand. Convinced that the identity of Dickens’s murderer lies in the book’s missing denouement, Dickens’s nephew and unlikely detective, Dunston Burnett, sets out to complete his uncle’s half-finished novel. A stunning revelation crowns this tale about the mysterious death of England’s greatest novelist, and exposes the author’s long-held secret.
I really enjoyed reading this one and it kept me guessing and pondering and wondering how much could be true! I liked the character of Dunston Burnett and it looks like this is the first in a trilogy so we’ll be hearing more from him.
Thank you for my copy!
Here’s a bit about the author:
LYN SQUIRE was born in Cardiff, South Wales. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wales, his master’s at the London School of Economics and his doctorate at Cambridge University. Lyn is now an American citizen living in Virginia. During a twenty-five year career at the World Bank, Lyn published over thirty articles and several books within his area of expertise. Lyn also served as editor of the Middle East Development Journal for over a decade, and was the founding president of the Global Development Network, an organization dedicated to supporting promising scholars from the developing world.
Lyn has always been an avid reader of whodunits and has reviewed scores of mysteries for the City Book Review (Sacramento, CA), but it was the thrill of solving Charles Dickens’s unfinished ‘Mystery of Edwin Drood’ that convinced him to put aside his development pen and turn to fiction. Finding a solution to the mystery has attracted massive interest since the author’s death in 1870. A 1998 bibliography lists over 2,000 entries, with continuations ranging from the obvious (a Sherlock Holmes pastiche) to the absurd (The Mysterious Mystery of Rude Dedwin). Lyn’s version of what happened to Edwin is revealed in his first novel, Immortalised to Death. The adventures of his protagonist, Dunston Burnett, a non-conventional amateur detective, continue in Fatally Inferior and The Séance of Murder, the second and third stories in The Dunston Burnett Trilogy. Find more about Lyn on his website.
I received a PDF offer of this book to read and I’m so glad I said yes! Magdalena is a beautifully written story that felt like magical realism to me, reminding me a bit of the writing of Isabel Allende (especially her earlier works). I loved the character of Magdalena and I found Dottie so interesting and complex. I especially liked the ending.
This is a short read (about 200 pages) but it’s packed full of things to ponder and discuss.
Thank you for my copy!
Here’s the scoop:
MAGDALENA is a swirling and mystical debut that has been compared to the writings of Shirley Jackson, a perfect read for these stormy summer nights!
In a small secluded town that thrives on gossip and superstition, Dottie offers plenty of both when the scandal breaks about a missing girl, a ghost, and the affair that started it all. Having suffered a history of miscarriages, reclusive Dottie develops a strange motherly interest in her 15-year-old neighbor, Magdalena. Somewhere between fantasy and reality, Dottie finds new life in her relationship with the mysterious girl. But Dottie’s entanglements with Magdalena, a curious centenarian, a compelling stranger, an ex-mobster, and a murder of crows thrusts this once cloistered woman into a frenzy of public scrutiny. To quell the rumors, Dottie puts pen to paper and discovers something as frightening as it is liberating – her voice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Candi Sary is an award-winning writer and graduate from the University of California, Irvine. Her writing has won Reader Views Literary Award, a Chanticleer International Book Award, and was First Runner-Up in the Eric Hoffer Book Award. A mother of two adult children, Sary lives in Southern California with her husband, a dog, a cat and several ducks. She can often be found surfing and paddling boarding in the waters of Newport Beach. She is a proud steward of a Little Free Library.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR MAGDALENA:
“I was transfixed by this novel set in a town suffused with ghosts figurative and literal, and moved deeply to witness an eccentric woman’s grief transmuted into a gripping testament to the power of the individual imagination.”-Antoine Wilson, author of Mouth to Mouth
“Beautifully written and satisfyingly creepy, this is one of the most poignant and original ghost stories I’ve ever read.” –Mark Haskell Smith, author of Blown
“Sary’s tale of love, loss and maternal devotion pulls hard at the heartstrings and is impossible to -put down.” –Diane Haeger, best-selling author of Courtesan
“Candi Sary’s astonishing fable locates us inside Dottie’s mind as she traverses the ghostly underworld of Sam’s Town and discovers her own power to rescue herself, teenage Magdalena, and the entire town.”-Stephanie Golden, author of Slaying the Mermaid: Women and the Culture of Sacrifice
“Sary draws us into a paranormal tale that feels absolutely real, heavy and creepily familiar.”-Dominic Carrillo, author of Acts of Resistance
“Sary’s instinct for the miraculous is indeed strong in this tender novel that lovingly captures the yearning for human connection.”-Donia Bijan, author of The Last Days of Cafe Leila
“Is it possible to write a modern day ghost story that’s also a poignant tale about love, loss, and redemption? Candi Sary has done just that with her second novel, Magdalena. Shirley Jackson fans will be kicking up their heels.”-Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, author of Palm Springs Noir (Akashic) and host of Writers on Writing
“Ghostly and mysterious yet rooted in the claustrophobic reality of a small town, Magdalena investigates a woman’s search for connection to the idiosyncratic people who cross her path, and most of all, to herself. This dark and delicate novel is a mesmeric read.”-Siel Ju, author of Cake Time
“Candi Sary lured me into the heart of Dottie, her misfit narrator whose loyalty carries her up and out of loneliness and tragedy. Once you get started, you won’t put it down and you won’t want it to end.”-Mary Castillo, author of The Dori O. Paranormal Mystery Series
“Executed with enchanting prose, the story unfolds with such a captivating sequence of events that it is hard to put down and even harder to forget.”-Amy R. Biddle, author of The Atheist’s Prayer and co-founder of Underground Book Reviews
“Sary’s mesmerizing writing style envelopes the reader in the dreamlike reality of Dottie’s nontraditional ways of overcoming grief.”-Nancy Klann-Moren, Author of The Clock Of Life
I received an e-copy of this book to review from Kazabo Publishing. It was a quick and engaging read. I really liked the main character, Luigi Berté. He is the protagonist of several cozy mysteries and this is the first title to be translated from Italian into English. It has that beautiful flow of Italian still!
I enjoyed this one and I think you will, too.
Thank you for my review copy!
“Double Murder at the Grand Hotel Miramare” by Elena and Michela Martignoni
Length: 180 pages/67,000 words
Genre: Mystery / Cozy Mystery
Release Date: 7/11/23
Print ISBN: 978-1-948104-24-1
Price: $12.99
Ebook 978-1-948104-25-8
Price: $7.99
Description:
Ever since his punitive transfer to Lungariva, the sleepy village has quickly become the Cabot Cove of the Italian Riviera.
This time, Deputy Assistant Chief of Police Luigi Berté has to investigate a double murder in the Grand Hotel Miramare, Lungariva’s historic luxury hotel, playground for old nobility, international business tycoons, and polo players. But one of the guests is not what they seem and Berté has to work quickly before his suspects scatter to the four corners of the earth – with deadly results.
Set in the very real Grand Hotel Miramare in the village of Santa Margherita Ligure, this novel features Luigi Berté, one of the best-known characters in modern Italian fiction. Appearing in a dozen murder mysteries and counting, Berté, a truly unique Italian creation, is beloved for his quirky approach to solving crimes, his kibitzing conscience, and his love for good food. Double Murder at the Grand Hotel Miramare is the first of Berté’s adventures to be translated into English.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Sisters Elena and Michela Martignoni, who also write under the pen name Emilio Martini, have published a dozen novels featuring Deputy Assistant Chief of Police Luigi Berté as well as several historical novels. Their works have been translated into English, Spanish and German.
“Berté is not a genius, like Poirot. He is a bloodhound. He digs the dirt and immerses himself in the murder he is investigating.” Il Corriere della Sera
“An apparently perfect murder.” Milano Nera
“Luigi Berté is rationality forged with passion.”
Sugar Pulp
“Luigi Berté is one of the most beloved protagonists in Italian noir.” Thriller Nord
What a cover!! Today I’m throwing the spotlight on a new title by Susanne Dunlap: The Adored One.
If you know me, you know I love the days of early entertainment and this novel sounds SO enticing!!
Here’s the scoop:
Lillian Lorraine was a naive 15-year-old chorine on Broadway when she attracted the notice of the notorious 41-year-old Florenz Ziegfeld. Accustomed to getting what he wanted, Ziegfeld took Lillian under his wing and into his arms, giving her coveted numbers in the Ziegfeld Follies and taking control of her career. But Lillian’s rebellious spirit chafed against him, refusing to play according to his rules, and nearly destroying her own career in the process. The Adored One follows her through rise and fall after rise and fall as she comes of age in a world where her youthful beauty was an asset-and a liability.
“Talented, beautiful, fiercely independent, flighty… there aren’t enough adjectives to describe the intensely sympathetic and heartbreakingly reckless Lillian Lorraine… Buckle up; it’s a wild ride. I enjoyed The Adored One immensely.”
– Mitchell James Kaplan, author of Rhapsody
“Broadway of over a hundred years ago comes vividly to life in this story of the enchanting showgirl Lillian Lorraine. You will cheer for this gorgeous survivor all the way.”
– Stephanie Cowell, American Book Award winner and author of Claude & Camille and The Boy in the Rain
About the Author:
Susanne Dunlap is the author of twelve works of historical fiction for adults and teens, as well as an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach. Her love of historical fiction arose partly from her studies in music history at Yale University (PhD, 1999), partly from her lifelong interest in women in the arts as a pianist and non-profit performing arts executive. Her novel The Paris Affair won first place in its category in the CIBA Dante Rossetti awards for Young Adult Fiction. The Musician’s Daughter was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Bank Street Children’s Book of the Year, and was nominated for the Utah Book Award and the Missouri Gateway Reader’s Prize. In the Shadow of the Lamp was an Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award nominee. Susanne earned her BA and an MA (musicology) from Smith College, and lives in Biddeford, ME, with her little dog Betty.
(Susanne! We have so many similar interests that I just know that we would be kindred spirits and could walk our dogs together and talk about musical theater!)
But my enthusiasm makes me digress, because…
Here’s an excerpt! (NB – one “semi-swear” use of H-E- double hockey sticks)
For the next two weeks, Fred and I saw each other secretly whenever we could. I didn’t ask him again about Fanny, but I couldn’t look her in the eye at the theater, and I knew she figured something was wrong. I wasn’t sure she knew anything at all, until the night everyone knew, and everyone took sides.
I was waiting to go on for one of my beauty numbers, wearing the most expensive costume of all. It was just about the time for me to run daintily onto the stage, and I cleared my throat for my song and loosened my jaw to get rid of any tension that would make my voice tight. I stepped forward to go on stage. RRRip! It’s an awful sound, one no actress wants to hear seconds before going on stage. I figured I’d got the sequined fabric caught on a nail sticking up from the floor or something. But when I turned to check, there was Fanny, her foot planted on my hem; just below a tear it would be impossible to mend.
“Oops.” Fanny folded her arms across her chest and stared straight into my eyes. I’d never seen an expression like that on her face before. Bitter, angry, sad, all mixed up together.
“What are you doing?” I still hoped it was an accident, that she’d just let me go on and we could talk about it after the show.
“I’m sure I don’t know. What the hell are you doing with my fella?” Fanny said it right out loud. Everyone in the wings heard her, and probably some people in the audience.
I was mad at myself and mad at Fred, but I took it out on Fanny. “Just because you can’t keep a man doesn’t mean I did anything!”
I heard the gasps and then the silence. Before I could turn and go on stage, Fanny was on top of me, grabbing at my costume, my headdress, my hair. “Why, you!”
Nothing gets me riled up like having people get the wrong end of things and blaming me. I didn’t go after Fred, he came after me! She should be doing this to him! I gave it right back to her, scratching and kicking. It felt good to thrash out and punch someone, even though after a minute I didn’t know why. I wasn’t just angry at the situation I’d gotten into, I was mad at my life.
“Stop it!” Bert Williams, risking his career for even touching us, took hold of each of our shoulders and separated us. “You missed your cue,” he said to me. He took out a hankie and wiped a little blood off a scratch on my face.
But I was still white hot. “No, I haven’t!” Before he could stop me I stormed onto the set. The look on the chorines’ faces when they saw me come out a total wreck—hair a mess, gown torn, makeup running—made me laugh. No one could keep me from doing my part. They’d been singing their background without me, but I started the number over and performed it all the way through like it was nothing. At the end the audience laughed and clapped anyway, probably thinking what I did was a clever variation, something to change things up a bit, like a staged police raid.
I’ve read other mysteries by Mary Keliikoa so I was excited to see that there was a new Misty Pines book out by her.
This was a twisty thriller that kept me guessing right until the end. I will say that I felt like I was figuring out things faster than the protagonists, but then I ended up being wrong! While reading this, I was thinking that it would make a good movie.
Thanks for my copy and for making me part of the tour!
Hidden Pieces by Mary Keliikoa
Sheriff Jax Turner is staring down the barrel of his broken past. On the brink of ending it all, he feels like a failure following his daughter’s tragic passing and his subsequent divorce. But when a schoolgirl vanishes and her backpack is found in a sex offender’s backseat, the weary lawman drags himself into action and vows to nail one last sociopath.Shocked to discover the teen’s aunt had lost her life in an abduction years prior, the devastating outcome that he’s taken personally, Jax believes the killer has returned with a vengeance. But as the desperate cop frantically hunts down a mysterious relative in search of a suspect, the girl’s time keeps ticking away…Can the jaded sheriff take down the culprit in time to bring the young girl home alive?
Book Details:Genre: Police Procedural + Mystery & Psychological Suspense Published by:Level Best Books Publication Date: October 2022 Number of Pages: 282 ISBN: 9781685121563 (ISBN10: 168512156X) Series: Misty Pines Mystery, #1
Mary Keliikoa is the author of Hidden Pieces and the upcoming Deadly Tides in the Misty Pines mystery series, the PI Kelly Pruett mystery series which includes the Shamus, Lefty, Agatha and Anthony nominated Derailed for best debut, and the upcoming Don’t Ask, Don’t Follow out Summer of 2024. Her short stories have appeared in Woman’s World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime.A Pacific NW native, she admits to being that person who gets excited when called for jury duty. When not in Washington, you can find Mary with toes in the sand on a Hawaiian beach. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.
I’m here today as part of the Summer Blog Tours to highlight In a Quiet Town by the most awesome Amber Garza. She writes incredible mysteries that are thrilling but not too scary or violent. I really liked the character of Adrienne in this story. It can be hard growing up in an uber-religious family that decides what you will and won’t do and worries about how everything “looks”. Yet Garza gives us enough background that Adrienne’s father is not a caricature, lending to the believability of the story.
Thanks for having me as part of the tour!
Here’s the scoop on this one:
In a Quiet Town : A Novel
Amber Garza
On Sale Date: August 8, 2023
9780778334255
Trade Paperback
$18.99 USD
336 pages
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In this chilling new novel, a pastor’s wife discovers that her estranged daughter is missing, but no one will believe her, until she meets a man claiming to be her daughter’s fiancé.
Tatum secretly reconnects with her estranged adult daughter—secretly because Adrienne’s been all but disowned by Tatum’s husband, a pastor at the church in their small California town, where every move is watched and reported by his congregation. When Adrienne doesn’t show up for her shift at the bar where Tatum’s been visiting her, she knows something is wrong. Adrienne may have been a bit of wild child, but she hasn’t missed a day of work without calling in for years.
Tatum tries desperately to get the police or her husband to take her daughter’s disappearance seriously, until a mysterious man shows up claiming to be Adrienne’s fiancé. It’s a relief to finally have someone who believes her and is trying as hard as she is to find out where Adrienne is. But can she trust that this stranger is really who he says he is? And can she find her daughter before it’s too late?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amber Garza has had a passion for the written word since she was a child making books out of notebook paper and staples. Her hobbies include reading and singing. Coffee and wine are her drinks of choice (not necessarily in that order). She writes while blaring music, and talks about her characters like they’re real people. She lives with her husband and two kids in Folsom, California.
I just love Jennifer Weiner’s books, and I really liked this one centered on Abby, a young, plus-sized woman living in Philadelphia and dealing with the ups and downs of life, work, and dating. Her books are part fiction, part romance, and always with a big slice of real life! I will say that this one wasn’t my favorite as I felt the pacing was slow and I began to care more about Morgan (a side character) than Abby (the protagonist), but overall, if you enjoy her books I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one! It publishes later in August (2023).
Thank you for my review copy!
Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and a life-changing journey.
Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she’s lived since college still looks like she’s just moved in. But she’s got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She’s at peace with her plus-size body—at least, most of the time—and she’s on track to marry Mark Medoff, her childhood summer sweetheart, a man she met at the weight-loss camp that her perpetually dieting mother forced her to attend. Fifteen years after her final summer at Camp Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she’s always wanted.
Yet Abby can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t right…or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last-minute invitation to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls, she’s happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind.
But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group—Sebastian, the one-night stand she thought she’d never see again. Sebastian is a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away. In spite of their undeniable chemistry, Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there’s a surprise last-minute addition to the trip: her mother, Eileen, the woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she’s still trying to undo.
Over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, strangers become friends, hidden truths come to light, a teenage girl with a secret unites the riders in unexpected ways…and Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love.
Jennifer Weiner is an American writer, television producer, and journalist. She is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her debut novel, published in 2001, was Good in Bed. Her novel In Her Shoes was made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine. Wikipedia
I love the Julia Bird mysteries, set in the Cotswolds with intelligent and thoughtful retiree Julia solving murders that happen on her doorstep. This one was fun as it centered on a trivia contest at a local pub. It kept me guessing! I do love these characters, including Julia’s cumbersome Black lab!
Thanks for my copy and for including me on the tour!
Book Description:
Julia Bird loves the village pub quiz, but it seems one of her team won’t make it to the next round alive…
On the first Tuesday of each month, Julia Bird and her Agatha Quizteam teammates take part in Berrywick’s village pub quiz. They take it seriously – what’s the point of playing, after all, if you aren’t in it to win it? But it seems someone connected with the quiz night has taken the competition to a whole new level when Lilian, the local police constable and all-round general knowledge expert, is found fatally stabbed after the evening’s final round.
With local DI Hayley Gibson stuck home with a broken leg and an incompetent Superintendent brought in from the nearby town, it’s up to Julia to make sure the investigation stays focussed – whether they like it or not! While the police are convinced that the murderer is linked to Lilian’s professional life, Julia turns her amateur sleuthing eye to suspects much closer to home. Perhaps Lilian’s personal life could have something to do with the dreadful crime?
When another quiz team member is attacked, Julia is finally put on the right track. But what could possibly be important – or dangerous – enough for two attendees of the pub quiz night to meet such foul ends over? Could the culprit really be among them on that busy Tuesday night? As Julia’s race to identify the killer ramps up to desperate heights, she wonders, where will the murderous spree end?
Perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands, Murder at the Inn is a brilliantly compelling English cosy mystery.
Author Bio:
Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.
Synopsis: A historical thriller with a love story at its heart
November 1947: Jeanne and John, two newspaper journalists, fall in young love as they travel from Chicago to New York to witness the momentous vote of the United Nations to partition Palestine and create the State of Israel. When they discover an assassination plot meant to swing the outcome, they must put their personal lives on hold and race the clock to stop it, uncovering elaborate details of international politics along the way.
Fifty years later, having gone their separate ways, the two reconnect in Italy. Set against a stunning pastoral backdrop, Jeanne and John relive those turbulent days together and explore whether their love has stood the test of time.
International thriller meets operatic Italian romance in this intricate tale of love, politics, and misunderstandings. Come November is a celebration of history, family bonds, redemption, and second-chance love sure to please fans of thrillers and romance alike.
About Scott Lord:
Scott Lord is a longtime Los Angeles trial lawyer, as well as a writer and librettist. He graduated with honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz and from the Santa Clara University School of Law where he was a member of the Law Review. He and his wife, Susan, are the parents of six children and live in Santa Monica, California. His previous novel, The Logic Bomb, a legal thriller, was published in 2015. Scott is available for interviews, contributed articles, guest posts, Q&As, and commentary. Learn more at www.scottlord.com.
Beth's Book-Nook Blog 