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.

Earth Song by Catherine Coulter

Life has been pretty stressful lately so I thought it was high time for some escapism reading. I picked up this novel that Ben's Mom loaned me on my nightstand and read it rather quickly this week.

Earth Song is part of a "Song" series of books by Coulter, but I haven't read any of the other novels in the series. This novel is a pretty typical romance, headstrong heroine, manly hero, misunderstandings, raw passion, etc. There is also a bit of humor in it, which is nice. The novel is set in 13th century England. Phillipa de Beauchamp accidently is so beautiful that her sister's suitors inevitably fall for her instead of her poor sister. One day Phillipa accidently hears her father tell one of these wayward suitors that she is intended for a "fat old man with no teeth." She decides to run away from home by hiding in a wool wagon. The wool wagon is captured by a a poor nobleman that considers himself a rogue, Dienwald de Fortenberry. Phillipa becomes his prisoner, but is able to use her skills as her father's steward and in weaving to help Dienwald manage his manor better. The fiery pair have many misunderstandings, but find love.

It was a good, quick, and fun romance. Not heavy reading, but it was something fun to read.