Two Smart Strong Women, A Murder Investigation that too of the President of the US and the accused is the First Lady who is caught with the supposed murder weapon. What else would you like in a murder mystery novel. The president’s widow is a has a plot full of surprises twists and strong characters. Though it has strong female characters at the forefront the male characters are equally important to the pace of the story which keeps the reader bound at every page and never falters. A book that is gripping and thrilling and a must read in this times of quarantine and lockdown.
A great treat from start to end.
Though Hoyt’s story seemed irrelevant to me but it adds to the thrill and never slows the plot.
Thanks @BookTasters and Jeffrey Bates for this Book
Crossed – Shelby Haisley
Crossed by Shelby Haisley is the 3rd installment in the story of the teenager August Haven. In this book finally after intriguing the readers in the 1st 2 books some answers about August are revealed
This book is also as fast paced and from start to finish as the previous and makes the reader eager for the next one to know how it all ends. One o side it makes us eager to know the end and on the other side it makes one wish this thrill ride never ends.
I hope to see soon a movie announced on this series on the lines of the Jason Bourne series.
A non stop thrill ride for all lovers of thrillers.
The Women’s Meeting – J E London
The Women’s Meeting by J E London is the story of a psychologist who specialises in domestic violence . Though she has her own practice, a virtual pandora’s box is opened when she agrees to a woman only meeting at a local Church. The stories of each women attending the meeting are gut wrenching tales of abuse self loathing and fear While helping the women she also has to confront the hidden truths of er past and until then she cannot move on.
This book is a very hard and painful read and sometimes has to stop due to overwhelming emotions.
This is not a tale to preach or give motivational talk but a self discovery for each of the women to their potential and the truths and tries to convey the message that until one stops being the victim the circumstances will never change and hidden truths will never give the courage to do what one has to do to change the circumstances.
A very good though tough read
Thanks @Booktasters for the opportunity to review this book
The Parrot’s Perch – Karen Keilt
The Parrot’s Perch by Karen Keilt is a memoir of the testimony she gave before The Brazilian national Truth Commission (whorrich was constituted to find the truth of the atrocities committed in the time of military rule.
The account is chilling, graphic in detail as Karen narrates the sequences that turned her fairy tale life that any girl dreams of. The tortures , the beatings and rapes perpetrated by the corrupt police on Karen and her newly wed husband who were arrested on a false charge and never formally arrested or charged with just note that they were brought for questioning became a statistic in the horrific crimes committed by the state. the narrative chills your heart and there is a saying in Hindi “Rongte khade kar dena” though it literally means Gets you goosebumps (in Hindi means very horrifying and scary )
Through the narrative Karen just tells the story as she remembers and never tries to sugar coat or add more details and never asks for pity or sympathy but demands truth and justice and tries to understand why it happened and still happens She tries to get hang and move on from those more than month long horror that destroyed her almost perfect life and marriage and she had to escape from both using false means as the patriarchal society wouldn’t have allowed her either to talk about or escape from those days but her father and husband ans silently her mother too just wanted her to forget as it never happened .
Though she built a new life in US with another loving man and her son but those days still haunted her and she wanted answers.
Thanks @ReadersHouse for connecting me to the author
For Those Who Dare – John Anthony Miller
For Those Who Dare by John Anthony Miller is a fantastic account of the events around the construction of the Berlin Wall. The wall was constructed to keep the west out or was it to keep the east in is a big question here.
There are are group of people who need to escape to the west at any cost which becomes nearly impossible with the construction of the wall overnight. The rest story is how they plan and manage it and whether they are successful in an atmosphere of distrust where you are not sure who you can trust and betrayals becomes the norm and survival becomes a necessity When loved ones betray they receive help from unexpected sources.
The story is never dull and very realistic as if the author was part of the its unfolding and it is hard to put down book I read it from start to finish. A fantastic story with very good characters.
Thanks Readers House for the chance to read and review this book for free.
Red Tide – Mark James Miller
I would give 5 stars for the story and vivid descriptions of the landscapes and area and also main characters. I received this book from the author via @BookTasters
Red Tide by Mark James Miller is a coming of age heart breaking story of two friends who think by escaping or running away from their problems and dysfunctional families can make them happy but they find otherwise and have to return and on the way berfiend a former prostitute who thinks she has has to atone for her past. There are many other characters in the story which leads to complex interactions and relationships both good and bad.
The plot makes for a story that is hard to leave or forget. But the shortcoming ids events and the mistakes they make is repetitive and also I personally feel there is unnecessary too much violence and badness in the story. Making same mistakes again and again and repenting and then making same mistake again may be Real Life but makes not for a very interesting reading
But that surely is my personal feeling
Otherwise the story is realistic and hard hitting .
Echoes of the Gidat – Eme Savage
AN amazing fantasy world that is so vividly described by the author in Echoes of the Gidat. The story is also equally fascinating and spellbinds the reader.
Two timelines are running parallel but never create any confusion. One is the story of the first Gidat being narrated to prepare the prophesied last gidat for his role. The characters are also remarkable There are too many characters but each one has enriched the story
Though initially it takes times time and a few pages to get into the story bur once it picks pace never slacks off.
It makes me eagerly and anxiously wait for the fates of Minkos , Tgan , Katriel and all others to be revealed so waiting for the sequel .
A must read for all kinds of readers because it is a great chronicle
Wanted – Shelby Haisley
Wanted by Shelby Haisley was sent to me through @BookTasters. It is a edge of seat thriller from the 1st page
August has lost her parents in a car accident but cannot remember most of it just that her father had asked her to run and that is what she does . She has to run to find those who murdered her parents
and protect herself from CIA , gangsters all who want something from her. She also has to find out her parents’ secrets that the CIA director so desperately wants.
Her only hope is a rogue agent Steele and his protege
A fast thriller with all the elements of a blockbuster. A well written story where events keep happening every page and keeps the reader glued . A page turner from the word go makes eagerly and Anxiously wait for the sequel
Cornered – Alan Brenham
Cornered by Alan Brenham is a thriller ,cop novel that binds the reader from the first page. Seven young women are kidnapped at different intervals with link between them without a ransom demand. It is upto the young detective matt Brady to find them before they are lost forever or at least catch the criminals before more women are kidnapped. A vet Tracy also involved herself in the case as the latest victim is her assistant and thus angering the kidnappers and Brady has to race against time to save his love interest from becoming the next victim So it becomes a personal mission for him due to Tracy and a botched kidnapping rescue in the past.
This race to find the kidnappers and the motive behind moves the plot forward. Are the women saved or lost forever? Is Tracy saved and the perpetrators caught ?
The book is gripping, with twists . Though the pace is not very fast but still thrilling. Though there are many characters ; each one has his own p;ace to move the plot forward and justifies his/her place.
A must read for all thrill readers. Thanks @BookTasters for this book
A Crowded Heart – Andrea McKenzie Raine
A Crowded Heart by Andrea McKenzie Raine is a a story that neither entertains not thrills but makes one to pause reading and think; and doesn’t leave your thoughts even when it is finished . It is the story of survivors of those who actively participated in the great war; who wonder if they are the lucky ones or those dies fighting were lucky.
Willis , the soldier here comes out only injured in the war, marries . has a career and a life but has the war been left behind actually or is he still fighting it daily in his mind like many of his fellow soldiers. They are left battling depression and resort to alcoholism, infidelity and sometimes drugs to fight the demons and mental scars . Though physically they are free but mentally they are still the prisoners of the war and even when try to get help, the authorities just sweep them aside in some rehabilitation centre and forget they exist
The angst the struggle to free from mental prison and the families who are swept along in their tornado of emotions without a clue to how to help and havoc that is caused is handled in this story. A heartbreakingly thoughtful novel that I received through @readershouse.
