Reckoning by Catherine Coulter

 

Do you have any favorite authors that write in more than one genre?  I have enjoyed Catherine Coulter’s romance novels in the past and this was my first time reading one of her thrillers.  This book was the September 2022 read for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I’m running just a tad behind on that book challenge!!

Reckoning is basically two different parallel stories. Kirra Mandarian's parents were brutally murdered when she was just twelve years old.  She moved with her Uncle to Australia and changed her name.  Now fourteen years later, she’s back as a lawyer in Virginia, and she won’t rest until she can solve the murder of her parents.  But will the murderers find her first?

The second story is about Emma Hunt.  She is a twelve-year-old piano prodigy that was kidnapped as a child because her grandpa is criminal mastermind.  After someone tries to kidnap her again, she manages to save herself.  Who is after her this time?

This book started off with a bang and the action kept going the entire book.  This is book #26 in the FBI thriller series and I have not read the rest of the series.  The book was a good standalone book, but I did keep wondering when the two stories would connect.  They never did.  Savich and Sherlock were a married couple of FBI agents in the Emma Hunt storyline and I think their story is probably pretty interesting if you read the entire series.

Overall, Reckoning was an enjoyable thriller.

Review Copy from Netgalley.   Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Christmas Spirit by Debbie Macomber

 

What is your favorite Christmas or holiday cookie or treat?

It’s not Christmas without a Debbie Macomber book.  This book was my December read for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I still need to watch the meeting!  They are posted each month on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page and are delightful.

Peter Armstrong and Hank Colfax are best friends in the 1970’s.  Both lead very different lives.  Peter is the pastor at a local church, while Hank runs a local tavern.  Both believe the other has an easier time at their job so they decide to switch jobs for a week before Christmas.  Both discover that the other has a much harder job than they thought.  They also find that they can make a difference at their new jobs and perhaps find love along the way.

I loved this story.  I thought it was very heartwarming and really looked at the true meaning of Christmas.  I find it interesting that many books labeled “Christian” really are just stories that are a clean read, but have nothing about faith.  This book is not labeled as a Christian read, but it was a great one.  It had many thoughtful points such as are the church ladies judging rather than helping people in town?  Who should they be helping?  Do you know what anyone is going through if you haven’t walked in their shoes.   Everyone kept being surprised that Hank the bartender knew scripture and applied it in his life.  There are strippers and a biker gang in this book, which are not traditionally in a Christmas story.

The story is framed with a grandmother telling this story to her grandkids.  I kept wondering who she was going to end of being and it had a satisfying conclusion. 

Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Twelve Topsy-Turvy Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson and Tad Safran

 

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at Christmas?

One of my favorite Christmas stories is that when my eldest son Kile was one almost two, he was very excited to come downstairs and discover all of the toys under the tree. He was so excited, he ran down again the next morning only to discover that Christmas only comes once a year.  Also that same year before Christmas there was a large crash and he and our cat ran out from the living room.  We still don’t know what happened, but the Christmas tree was ruined.

The Twelve Topsy-Turvy Very Messy Days of Christmas is a funny new Christmas novel.  It is the November selection of the Brenda Novak Book Club.   While I read all of the Brenda Novak Book Group selections last year, I have not been as successful this year.  I’m glad that I was able to read this one in November.

Henry is a professor who lost his wife five years ago.  He and his children, Will and Ella, have been struggling since then.  Henry is trying to hang onto his job, while Will and Ella just want to have a Christmas again.  They decide to create a fake dating profile for their dad and find a likely candidate, Ms. Truelove.  Ms. Truelove starts to send mysterious presents to their home in the twelve days leading up to Christmas that follow the Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  This wreaks havoc on the family and home, but through it all, will they discover what is the most important thing of all?  And how will they get Ms. Truelove to stop sending the gifts?

I thought this was a very fun book, but it was also heartwarming in it’s look at how a missing family member can impact your holidays and life.  It was also about how to move on.  I would call this a zany Christmas fantasy novel.  It did make me think about the song The Twelve Days of Christmas much more.  Why would someone’s true love really give you all of those gifts?  They are crazy gifts!!

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

 

Title:  The Christie Affair

Author: Nina de Gramont

Narrated by:  Lucy Scott

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately10 hours and 23 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!

 Where did Agatha Christie go when she disappeared for eleven days in 1926?  What books have you read recently with Irish characters or settings?

 The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont is the Brenda Novak Book Group selection for March.  I am looking forward to the meeting and interview with the author next week.

 The Christie Affair takes place during the eleven days that Agatha Christie disappeared in 1926.  I thought this book was about Agatha Christie, but it is actually about Nan O’Dea. Nan O’Dea is Archie Christie’s mistress, and she narrates the novel.  Why would Nan want to marry an already married man?  The novel goes back and forth between the past that brought Nan to this point and where Agatha and Nan end up during the disappearance. 

 This ended up being a good book for March as much of Nan’s past story was set in Ireland.  She had a great love, Finbarr who fought in the first World War.  She became pregnant with his child after his return from war.  As he is struck down with the flu epidemic, his parents take the unwed Nan to a convent to have her baby.  It is a traumatic experience.

 I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and the story was very engaging, especially once I let go of my preconceived notions that this was a book about Agatha Christie. It is historical fiction, but it is about real people.  It fictionalizes the lives of two real women, which I don’t know how I feel about.  I’m used to the story being true and the fiction part filling in the details.  In this book, fiction is made up about both characters and Agatha’s daughter.  I also wondered why everyone wanted Archie Christie.  He had no redeeming qualities. 

 The best parts of the book were unraveling the mystery of Nan, why she would want Archie Christie, and the romance between her and Finbarr.  The mysterious deaths at the spa and how it tied into everything were like an Agatha Christie novel.

 Lucy Scott was an entertaining narrator of the audiobook that kept me engaged.

 Overall, The Christie Affair was a good historical mystery about Archie Christie’s mistress.

Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks

 

Leigh Fletcher is happily married to the handsome Mark and the mother of two stepsons that she adores.  When she doesn’t return from work one day, her entire family is left to wonder, what happened to Leigh?  Detective Clements thinks it must be a domestic issue until another woman, Kai Janssen, is also reported missing.  Kai is a wealthy woman married to a handsome and rich Dutch businessman, Daan.  She went to visit her mother at a nursing home up north and never came home.  Where could these two women be?

I don’t want to ruin this book by giving away any plot details.  The story was a good thriller.  I figured out certain elements of it but didn’t quite figure out the ending. I’m not sure I was totally satisfied with the ending.  It answered all of the questions but didn’t quite go the way I wanted it to go.  An interesting element to this book is that it takes place right at the start of the pandemic. There is uncertainty in the world and now two women have disappeared without a trace.  There was an element to the story that I thought was a good twist as it went against gender assumptions. 

I read this on a road trip to Michigan in February and couldn’t put it down!  It was the February selection for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I enjoyed the online discussion that Brenda Novak had with Adele Parks about this book.

Overall, if you are looking for a good new thriller, Woman Last Seen will keep you up at night!

Book Source:  Purchased on Amazon.com