St. Martin’s Press – Page 3 – The Book Diva's Reads

Book Showcase: THE ANCIENT NINE by Ian K. Smith

The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith
ISBN: 9781250182395 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250182401 (ebook)
ISBN: 9781250299215 (audiobook)
ASIN: B079DV448K (Kindle edition)
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: September 18, 2018

“Pulls you into the depths of a secret world from the first page. Ian Smith’s novel is unmissable.” —Harlan Coben, author of Missing You

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fall 1988

Spenser Collins

An unlikely Harvard prospect, smart and athletic, strapped for cash, determined to succeed. Calls his mother—who raised him on her own in Chicago—every week.

Dalton Winthrop

A white-shoe legacy at Harvard, he’s just the most recent in a string of moneyed, privileged Winthrop men in Cambridge. He’s got the ease—and the deep knowledge—that come from belonging.

These two find enough common ground to become friends, cementing their bond when Spenser is “punched” to join the Delphic Club, one of the most exclusive of Harvard’s famous all-male final clubs. Founded in the nineteenth century, the Delphic has had titans of industry, Hollywood legends, heads of state, and power brokers among its members.

Dalton Winthrop knows firsthand that the Delphic doesn’t offer memberships to just anyone. His great-uncle is one of their oldest living members, and Dalton grew up on stories of the club’s rituals. But why is his uncle so cryptic about the Ancient Nine, a shadowy group of alums whose identities are unknown and whose power is absolute? They protect the Delphic’s darkest and oldest secrets—including what happened to a student who sneaked into the club’s stately brick mansion in 1927 and was never seen again.

Dalton steers Spenser into deeper and deeper recesses of the club, and beyond, to try to make sense of what they think they may be seeing. But with each scrap of information they get from an octogenarian Crimson graduate, a crumbling newspaper in the library’s archives, or one of Harvard’s most famous and heavily guarded historical books, a fresh complication trips them up. The more the friends investigate, the more questions they unearth, tangling the story of the club, the disappearance, and the Ancient Nine, until they realize their own lives are in danger.

Read an excerpt: (Mild Profanity Alert!)

PROLOGUE

Halloween Night, 1927

The Delphic Mansion

Cambridge, Massachusetts

EMPTY ROPES CLATTERED against flagpoles, and street signs flappedhelplessly in the shadowy night. Two boys sneaked down a cobblestone path crowded with heavy bushes and enormous signs that warned against trespassing.

They stood there for a moment, their bodies dwarfed by the gigantic brick mansion

“That’s enough, let’s turn around,” Kelton Dunhill whispered. He had large competent hands and knots of compact muscles that bulged underneath his varsity letter sweater. He carried a long silver flashlight he had borrowed from the superintendent’s office of his residential house.

“I’m going all the way,” Erasmus Abbott said firmly. “I didn’t come this far to chicken out. Just a few more minutes and we’ll be inside.”

Dunhill looked up at the tall wrought-iron fence that had been reinforced with solid wood planks to obstruct any potential view into the rear courtyard. He was a tough, scrappy kid, a varsity wrestler who had been undefeated in almost three years of college competition. He was many things, but a quitter was not one of them. Very little intimidated Dunhill, the son of a banker and elementary school music teacher, but when he looked up at the mansion’s towering spires and turrets set against the ominous sky and the royal blue flag that snapped so loudly in the wind, something made him feel uneasy. At that very moment, if Erasmus Abbott had not been standing next to him, he would’ve turned on his heels and run like hell. The only thing that kept his feet planted was his greater fear of the humiliation he would face once the others got word that the scrawny Abbott had showed bigger nerve.

“If we get caught, we’ll be fried,” Dunhill said in his most persuasive voice, trying to sound rational rather than scared.

“Technically speaking, we’re trespassing, and they can do anything they want to us since we’re on their property. I don’t need to remind you of what happened to A. C. Gordon.”

Erasmus Abbott took the milk crates they had been carrying and stacked them in a small pyramid against the fence, then slipped on his gloves and pulled his hat down until it settled just above his eyes. He was dressed all in black. Now completely disguised, he turned and faced Dunhill.

“There’s no proof Gordon ever made it this far,” Abbott contested. “And besides, I never believed the whole business about his disappearance anyway.” Abbott turned toward the platform of milk crates, then back at Dunhill, and said, “So what’s it going to be? I’m making history tonight with or without you. The answer is in there, and I’m not gonna stop till I find it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Dunhill mumbled under his breath before pulling down his own skullcap and stepping up to the fence. It all started out as a dare, but Abbott had taken it more seriously than anyone expected. This would certainly not be the first time a student had tried to break into the well-guarded Delphic mansion. There had been many attempts over the years, but according to legend, the farthest anyone had gotten was the external foyer. No one had ever penetrated the interior. What most worried Dunhill, however, was that few had lived to share their story.

“And what’s your plan once we get on the other side of the fence?” Dunhill said.

Abbott ran his hand over the small canvas bag strapped to his waist. “Everything we need is in here,” he said. “Once we get to the back door, I’ll have the lock open in well under a minute.”

Abbott had been practicing on different doors all over Quincy House in the middle of the night. His best-recorded time was twenty-nine seconds with a blindfold covering his eyes and a stopwatch hanging around his neck.

Abbott was not particularly athletic, but he scaled the crates easily and in one motion hoisted himself over the top of the fence and its row of pointed spears. Dunhill heard him land hard on the other side, then made a small sign of the cross over his heart, climbed onto the crates, and hurled himself over the fence. He landed on the firm slate tiles with a jolt.

They stood on the perimeter of a large courtyard dotted with elaborate marble sculptures and a fountain whose water sat motionless in a wide, striated basin. There were no lights to guide them, but moonlight cut through the heavy canopy of trees that towered overhead. A formidable, sturdy brick wall that was even taller than the fence they had just climbed surrounded them on two sides. Abbott had correctly chosen their entry point into the yard.

A gust of wind sent small piles of leaves flying sideways from one corner of the courtyard to the next. The mansion was eerily dark except for the dull flicker of a light in a small window just underneath the sloping angle of the tiled roof. The enormous building looked cold and menacing and unforgiving.

“She’s massive,” Abbott whispered. “I didn’t think she’d be this big. Must’ve cost them a king’s fortune to build it.”

“It’s not empty,” Dunhill said, pointing at the lighted window. “I still say this isn’t a good idea. We’ve already proved our point. Let’s get the hell out of here while we still can.”

Abbott pretended he hadn’t heard a word Dunhill said. He walked quietly across the courtyard toward a set of stairs that led to a large door with small panes and a brass doorknob that glistened under the moonlight’s glow. He cupped his face to the glass and looked inside. He turned and waved Dunhill over, but Dunhill remained motionless underneath the fence, still not believing they had actually gotten this far.

Abbott unzipped the canvas bag, pulled out a couple of tools, and quickly went to work on the lock. That’s when Dunhill glimpsed a shadow moving across the courtyard. He looked up toward the lighted window and saw something that he would never forget. It was the ugliest, scariest, blackest face he had ever laid eyes on. His heart tightened in his chest, and his lungs constricted. He tried to scream but couldn’t get the air to move in his throat. He turned to Erasmus to warn him, but it was too late. The door was open, and he was already inside.

1

Harvard College

Cambridge, Massachusetts

October 2, 1988

IT SHOULDN’T HAVE been enough to wake me, but I had just drifted off on the couch in the common room that separated my bedroom from my roommate’s. It was a short scratchy sound: a pebble or sand being dragged across the linoleum floor. I looked toward Percy’s bedroom. His door was closed and his light off. I sat up on the sofa, swiveling my head in the darkness to see what could’ve made the noise. Mice were not exactly uncommon sightings in these old Harvard houses, some of which had been built more than a century ago, so I was preparing myself for vermin out on a late-night scavenge. But when I turned on the lamp and looked down at the floor, what sat there took me completely by surprise.

Someone had slipped a small cream-colored envelope underneath the front door. There was no postage or return address, just my name and room number elaborately inscribed.

Spenser Collins

Lowell House L-11

I turned the envelope over, hoping to find some indication of who might have sent it, but what I discovered was even more puzzling.
Embossed on the flap were three torches—so dark blue, they were almost black—arranged in a perfect V shape.

I heard footsteps just outside the door, slow at first, but then they began to pick up speed. I pulled the door open, but the hallway was empty. Our room was on the first floor, so I grabbed my keys and ran a short distance down the hall, jumped a small flight of steps, then rammed my shoulder into the entryway door, forcing it open into the cool night. I immediately heard voices echoing across the courtyard, a cluster of three girls stumbling in high heels, dragging themselves in from a long night of drinking.

I scanned the shadows, but nothing else moved. I looked to my right and thought about running across the path that led to the west courtyard and out into the tiny streets of Cambridge. But my bare feet were practically frozen to the concrete, and the wind assaulted me like shards of ice cutting through my T-shirt. I retreated to the warmth of my room.

Percy’s bedroom door was still closed, which was not surprising. He wouldn’t wake up if an armored tank tore through the wall and opened fire.

I sat on the edge of the couch and examined the envelope again. Why would someone deliver it by hand in the middle of the night, then sneak away? None of it made any sense. I opened the book flap slowly, feeling almost guilty ripping what appeared to be expensive paper. The stationery was brittle, like rice paper, and the same three torches were prominently displayed in the letterhead.

The President and members of the Delphic Club

cordially invite you to a cocktail party on

Friday, October 14, 7 o’clock

Lily Field Mansion at 108 Brattle St. Cambridge.

Please call 876-0400 with regrets only.

I immediately picked up the phone and dialed Dalton Winthrop’s number. Fifth-generation Harvard and heir to the vast Winthrop and Lewington fortunes, he was one of the most finely pedigreed of all Harvard legacies, descending from a family that had been claiming Harvard since the 1600s, when the damn school got its charter from the Bay Colony. Dalton was a hopeless insomniac, so I knew he’d still be awake.

“What the hell are you doing up this time of the night?” Dalton said. “Some of us around here need our beauty sleep.” He sounded fully awake.

“What can you tell me about something called the Delphic Club?” I asked.

The phone rustled as he sat up.

“Did you just say ‘the Delphic’?” he said.

“Yeah, do you know anything about it?”

There was a slight pause before he said, “Why the hell are you asking about the Delphic at this ungodly hour?”

“They invited me to a cocktail party next Friday night. Someone just slipped the invitation under my door, then ran.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? The Delphic invited you to a cocktail party?”

“Unless there’s another Spenser Collins I don’t know about.”

“No offense, Spenser, but don’t get your hopes up,” he said. “This is probably some kind of prank someone’s pulling on you. The Delphic isn’t just a club, like any fraternity. It’s the most secretive of Harvard’s nine most exclusive clubs. They’re called final clubs. The Delphic goes all the way back to the 1800s and has some of the world’s most prominent men as members. An invitation to their cocktail party is like an invitation to kiss the papal ring.”

“So, what you’re really trying to say is that they would never give an invitation to a poor black kid from the South Side of Chicago.”

“Spenser, you know I don’t agree with that kinda shit, but that’s how these secret societies operate. They haven’t changed much over the last century and a half. Rich white men passing off the baton to the next generation, keeping their secrets shielded from the rest of the world. Yale has Skull and Bones, but here at Harvard we have the final clubs. It’s no exaggeration when I tell you that some of the country’s biggest secrets are buried in their old mansions.”

“If I don’t fit their image, then why did someone just slip this invite under my door?” I said.

“Because it’s not real,” Dalton said.

“What do you mean?”

“Guys joke like this all the time. This is the beginning of what’s called punch season, which means the clubs are secretly nominating sophomores to enter a series of election rounds. Whoever survives the cuts over the two months gets elected into the club. You’ve heard of the hazing they do in fraternities. Well, this is a little like that, but it’s a lot more formal with much bigger stakes.”

“What makes you so sure my invitation is fake when you haven’t even seen it?”

“Are you alone?”

“Percy’s here, but he’s out cold.”

“Pull out the invite and tell me if you see torches anywhere.”

I was sitting in the chair underneath the window, still eyeing the courtyard, hoping I might see who might’ve dropped off the envelope. The ambient light cracked the darkness of our common room. I held up the envelope.

“There are three torches on the back of the envelope,” I said.

“What about the stationery?”

“There too.”

“How many?”

“Three.”

“What color?”

“Dark blue.”

“Is the center torch lower or higher than the others?”

“Lower.”

Dalton sighed loudly. “Now take the stationery, turn it over, and hold it up to a light,” he said. “Tell me if you see anything when you look at the torches.”

I followed Dalton’s instructions, carefully removing the shade from one of Percy’s expensive porcelain lamps that his grandmother had proudly given him from her winter house in Palm Beach. I held the invitation next to the naked bulb. “There’s a thin circle with the initials JPM inside,” I said. “But you can only see it under the light. When you move it away, the letters disappear.”

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Spense, it’s the real deal!” Dalton yelled as if he were coming through the phone. “The Delphic really has punched you this season. I can’t believe this is happening. Tell me the date of the party again.”

It was rare to hear this level of excitement in Dalton’s voice. Few things got him going, and they typically had to do with either women, food, or his father, whom he hated more than the Yankees.

“Next Friday at seven o’clock,” I said. “It’s at a place called Lily Field Mansion.”

“Lily Field, of course,” Dalton said. “It’s the biggest one up there on mansion row, and it’s owned by the Jacobs family, one of the richest in the country. Stanford Jacobs used to be the graduate president of the Delphic, so it makes sense that he’s hosting the opening cocktail party.”

Secret society, mansions, ultra-wealthy families, an invitation delivered under the cloak of darkness. It was all part of a foreign world that made little sense to me, the son of a single mother who answered phones at a small energy company.

“So, what the hell does all this mean?” I asked.

“That you’re coming over here tomorrow for dinner, so we can figure out some sort of strategy,” Dalton said. “This is all a long shot, but if things go well for you on Friday night, you might make it to the next round. I’m getting way ahead of myself—but one round at a time, and you might be the way we crack the Ancient Nine.”

“The Ancient Nine?” I asked. “Is that another name for the clubs?”

“No, two different things,” Dalton said. “The Ancient Nine are an ultrasecret society of nine members of the Delphic. A secret society within a secret society that not even the other Delphic members know much about. Most around here have never even heard of the Ancient Nine, but for those who have, some swear it exists, others think it’s nothing more than another Harvard legend.”

“What do you think?”

Dalton paused deliberately. “I’d bet everything I own that they exist. But no one can get them to break their code of silence. According to rumors, they are hiding not only one of Harvard’s most valued treasures but also century-old secrets that involve some of the world’s richest families.”

Meet the Author

Ian K. Smith is the author of nine New York Times bestselling nonfiction books, several of them, including Shred and Super Shred, #1 bestsellers, as well as one previous work of fiction, The Blackbird Papers. He is a graduate of Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine.

Connect with the author via Facebook, Twitter, his Website, or Instagram.

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2018 Book 260: BABY TEETH by Zoje Stage

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
ISBN: 9781250170750 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250170774 (ebook)
ASIN: B076ZTC4GQ (Kindle edition)
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: July 17, 2018

Sweetness can be deceptive.

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette’s husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

Suzette and Axel had an idyllic relationship. They met, fell in love, married, and looked forward to beginning a family. Even with Suzette’s medical problems, they were excited about having their child and initially Hanna was everything they could have imagined. She was a healthy and happy child. But then she never talked. They took her for various testing to ensure there was nothing physiologically wrong with her and were assured that nothing was wrong. Then Suzette enrolled Hanna in kindergarten. She was asked to leave after only days there. Suzette homeschooled Hanna and saw a side of her daughter than Axel never saw, but she wasn’t afraid of her. Then Hanna turned six and they tried to enroll her in first grade. Hanna was once again asked to leave the school and, once again, Suzette was back to homeschooling her daughter. Suzette knew that Hanna was incredibly intelligent. Her daughter could read, write, and do math beyond her grade level. The only thing Hanna couldn’t do was talk. Now Hanna is seven years old and Suzette is recovering from another surgery to help with her Crohn’s disease. Suzette knows that Axel will never be able to see Hanna the same way she does, but she’s hopeful that perhaps this is the year that Hanna can transition to school. But then Hanna does begin talking only not as Hanna and the things she says can only be taken as threats, threats to Suzette’s welfare. When Hanna is expelled from a third and then a fourth school in less then three years, Suzette takes the advice of specialists at the schools and makes an appointment to see a child psychologist. Her only hope is that this psychologist will be able to provide help before serious injuries occur.

We’re all raised to think that little girls and boys are cute and innocent. Little girls are supposed to be made of “sugar and spice and everything nice.” Hanna is not that child, by any stretch of the imagination, although she presents as sweetness and love to her father. Hanna is a child with a severe case of the Electra complex, meaning she’s in love with her father and wants to kill her mother so she and her father can live happily ever after. If that doesn’t scare you, think about this, a seven-year-old child is devious enough to think of ways to kill her mother and even tries a few. I found Baby Teeth to be an engrossing read but perhaps not one for the faint of heart. This twisted tale is told in the alternating voices of Suzette and Hanna, and I was disheartened reading about everything Hanna did from Suzette’s perspective and downright chilled to read about it from Hanna’s perspective. Ms. Stage has crafted characters and scenarios that are not only plausible but spine-chilling. Once I started reading Baby Teeth I couldn’t put it down (yes, it was just that good). I enjoyed the characters, the action, and the settings. If you’re looking for a thrilling read this summer, look no further and grab a copy of Baby Teeth to read. Baby Teeth is going to be one of my must-read recommendations for this year. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Stage in the future.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2017 Book 331: THE STOLEN MARRIAGE by Diane Chamberlain

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
ISBN: 9781250087270 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250087294 (ebook)
ISBN: 9781427289407 (audiobook)
ASIN: B06XKJVT8D (Kindle edition)
Publication date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

In 1944, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly ends her engagement to the love of her life when she marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina, a small town struggling with racial tension and the hardships imposed by World War II. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows no interest in making love. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.

The people of Hickory love and respect Henry and see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain, especially after one of the town’s prominent citizens dies in a terrible accident and Tess is blamed. Tess suspects people are talking about her, plotting behind her back, and following her as she walks around town. What does everyone know about Henry that she does not? Feeling alone and adrift, Tess turns to the one person who seems to understand her, a local medium who gives her hope but seems to know more than he’s letting on.

When a sudden polio epidemic strikes the town, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess, who has a nursing degree, bucks Henry’s wishes and begins to work at the hospital, finding meaning in nursing the young victims. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle her husband’s mysterious behavior and save her own life?

Tess DeMello has only wanted two things in life: to become a nurse and to marry the love of her life. When her fiance is away for months on end working on the polio epidemic, Tess travels to Washington D.C. with a childhood friend. Who knew that one weekend away from home would change her life forever in The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain.

Theresa “Tess” DeMello has always been a good Italian Catholic girl. She loves and respects her mother. She’s studying hard to become a nurse and considers herself fortunate to be engaged to marry the love of her life, the son of her next-door neighbors. Her fiance is a pediatric physician, Vincent Russo, and is called away from Maryland to work on the polio epidemic in Illinois and it doesn’t seem like he’s ever going to make it back home. In an effort to take Tess’s mind off of her studies and absent fiance, her friend Gina talks her into taking a weekend trip from Baltimore to Washington D.C. Gina and Tess stay in a tourist home and meet two visiting businessmen in the home upon their arrival. A simple dinner with these men turns into something that soon devastates all of Tess’s future plans. After being kicked out of her childhood home by her mother, Tess leaves Baltimore for a new life in Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new life is anything but idyllic and soon tragedy strikes her new family. When polio strikes Hickory, Tess does the only thing she knows how to do and pitches in along with the other townsfolk to combat this scourge. Tess is willing to make a go of her marriage but it seems as if her husband has secrets he isn’t willing to share even with his wife. Can their marriage survive secrets and tragedy after tragedy?

I found The Stolen Marriage to be a fast-paced and haunting read. Ms. Chamberlain finds interesting historical tidbits, such as the town of Hickory NC and their ability to build a hospital to treat polio in less 100 hours (yes it’s a real town and yes they pulled together to fight polio), and build a heartwarming and often heart-wrenching story around that historical fact. I enjoyed all of the drama and tension within the story, between Tess and her husband Henry, between Tess and her mother-in-law, between Tess and the societal norms of Hickory NC that were foisted upon her after her marriage to Henry, the racial tension of the time, the fight to battle polio, and more. Yes, there’s quite a bit happening in this story, but it all works and works quite well. I liked all of the characters, even Henry with all of his issues and man does he have issues (read the book to find out more). For those of you that have read anything by Ms. Chamberlain in the past, I won’t have to tell you to grab a copy of The Stolen Marriage because you probably already have it. For those of you that haven’t read anything by this author, I strongly encourage you to get a copy of The Stolen Marriage to read ASAP. It’s been a few weeks since I read The Stolen Marriage and I still can’t get it out of my mind. I look forward to rereading The Stolen Marriage as well as any future writings by Ms. Chamberlain.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital advance reader copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes via NetGalley. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2017 Book 142: COME SUNDOWN by Nora Roberts

Come Sundown by Nora Roberts
ISBN: 9781250123077 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250123107 (ebook)
ASIN: B01M4GE64D (Kindle edition)
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2017

A saga of love, family ties, and twisted passions from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Obsession…

The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana is a family business, an idyllic spot for vacationers. A little over thirty thousand acres and home to four generations, it’s kept running by Bodine Longbow with the help of a large staff, including new hire Callen Skinner. There was another member of the family once: Bodine’s aunt, Alice, who ran off before Bodine was born. She never returned, and the Longbows don’t talk about her much. The younger ones, who never met her, quietly presume she’s dead. But she isn’t. She is not far away, part of a new family, one she never chose—and her mind has been shattered…

When a bartender leaves the resort late one night, and Bo and Cal discover her battered body in the snow, it’s the first sign that danger lurks in the mountains that surround them. The police suspect Cal, but Bo finds herself trusting him—and turning to him as another woman is murdered and the Longbows are stunned by Alice’s sudden reappearance. The twisted story she has to tell about the past—and the threat that follows in her wake—will test the bonds of this strong family, and thrust Bodine into a darkness she could never have imagined.

Alice Bodine left home at age eighteen determined to see the world on her own terms. A little more than a year later, she decided to return home to the Bodine Ranch and disappeared. Her family presumes she simply never wanted to return home or maintain contact with the family. Fast-forward twenty-five years and there’s a new generation operating the Bodine Ranch, now a posh resort and ranch. Bodine “Bo” Longbow never knew her aunt and, like her brothers, presumes that her aunt is most likely dead. Bo’s current focus, along with her parents and brothers, is on continuing to operate the Bodine Ranch to the best of her abilities. Not long after a childhood friend returns home and is hired to help manage the horses on the ranch, the body of a Bodine ranch employee is found dead and the new hire, Callan “Cal” Skinner, is considered a person-of-interest by some on the local police force. As time passes, Bo rekindles her friendship with Cal, begins to trust and rely upon him as illness causes a long-term family employee to take a leave of absence. Bo’s friendship with Cal quickly evolves into a romantic relationship. As their relationship heats up, more women disappear, and then a woman that has been gone and presumed dead turns up, Alice Bodine. No longer the free-spirited wild child of the past, this Alice has been broken. Afraid of men and one man in particular (her abductor/”husband”), the Bodines and Longbows come together to do whatever it takes to help Alice recuperate and regain some sense of self-worth and freedom. But darker forces are working in the background as the abducted women keep turning up dead, Alice’s abductor may still be at-large, and at least one law enforcement officer is willing to take the law into his own hands to see that his version of justice is done.

I found Come Sundown to be a fast-paced and engrossing read that melded the dark and twisted with the more traditional ideas of family, love, and justice. Yes, as with most Nora Roberts books, Come Sundown blends romance and suspense, but I found this story to be just a touch darker than some of her previous books (okay, it wasn’t as dark as some of the books from the In Death series). Don’t get me wrong, the dark and twisted works and works well. Come Sundown features dark themes such as abduction, serial rape, mental and physical torture, twisted ideas of marriage, family and justice, along with the more traditional notions of family, love, and romance. I could tell you more about what happens in the book, but if I did you wouldn’t need to read the book so I won’t. I will say that if you’re a Nora Roberts fan like me, you’ll definitely want to grab a copy of Come Sundown to read. If you’re a romantic-suspense fan, you’ll want to grab a copy of Come Sundown to read. If you’re looking for something a little different to read and you enjoy romance and/or suspense, then you’ll probably want to grab a copy of Come Sundown to read as well. I read Come Sundown almost two weeks ago and it’s still packing a punch. Thank you, Ms. Roberts, for another enjoyable read.

Disclaimer: I received a free print copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2016 Book 262: Review of BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B.A. Paris

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

ISBN: 9781250121004 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250121011 (ebook)
ASIN: B01CXO4VRI (Kindle edition)
Publication date: August 9, 2016
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.

Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace’s friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn’t Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?

And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?

The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?

Jack Angel appears to be the perfect gentleman and husband. He adores his wife and is protective of his new sister-in-law. He’s an attorney that fights in court on behalf of battered women. Grace Angel appears to the be the perfect wife, loving and nurturing and never more than a few steps away from her husband’s side. Is theirs the perfect marriage or can looks be deceiving in Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris.

Jack and Grace have a whirlwind romance and before you know it, Grace has quit her job, sold her house, and is ready to be a full-time wife. Jack was the perfect gentleman and lover during their courtship and is quite accepting of the fact that Grace’s younger sister, Millie, will be moving in with them when she finishes at school. Grace knows many men aren’t so accepting of having a younger sibling, much less one with Down’s Syndrome, move into their homes after marriage, so this is just one more thing to admire about Jack. Grace quickly learns that Jack is not the man he pretends to be on the day of her wedding and during her honeymoon. Every attempt she makes to deflect Jack results in her being seen as deranged or psychotic. As a result, Grace does the only thing she can do in this situation and that’s bide her time and pray that things will change for the better before Millie comes to live with them. Just how far is Grace willing to go in an effort to protect Millie from Jack?

I found Behind Closed Doors to be a fast-paced read that kept me on tenterhooks from the beginning to the very end. Jack is quite skilled at manipulating not only Grace but his circle of friends and acquaintances as well. The more that is revealed about Jack and Grace’s relationship, the more we realize that Jack epitomizes the psycho in this psychological thriller. I’ve read books with plenty of bad guys and books with plenty of evil guys, and Jack is probably in the top ten on both lists. Ms. Paris provides a nice little twist at the end of the story that was somewhat unexpected but pleasing nonetheless (no, I’m not going to tell you what the twist is…read the book!). The story is presented from Grace’s perspective from both the past and the present. This story contains some hot-button topics such as emotional, mental, and physical abuse, not to mention murder. The abuse isn’t presented in graphic detail, but it isn’t exactly glossed over either. If you enjoy reading psychological thrillers, then you’ll definitely want to add Behind Closed Doors to your reading list. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Paris in the future.

Read an excerpt here.

Disclaimer: I received a free print copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2016 Book 262: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B.A. Paris

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

ISBN: 9781250121004 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250121011 (ebook)
ASIN: B01CXO4VRI (Kindle edition)
Publication date: August 9, 2016
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.

Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace’s friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn’t Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?

And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?

The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?

Read an excerpt here.

This review brought to you by Wunderkind-PR.

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2015 Book 221: THE OTHER DAUGHTER by Lauren Willig

The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig
ISBN: 9781250056283 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781466860131 (ebook)
ASIN: B00PF818YY (Kindle edition)
Publication date: July 21, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Raised in a poor yet genteel household, Rachel Woodley is working in France as a governess when she receives news that her mother has died, suddenly. Grief-stricken, she returns to the small town in England where she was raised to clear out the cottage…and finds a cutting from a London society magazine, with a photograph of her supposedly deceased father dated all of three month before. He’s an earl, respected and influential, and he is standing with another daughter-his legitimate daughter. Which makes Rachel…not legitimate. Everything she thought she knew about herself and her past-even her very name-is a lie.

Still reeling from the death of her mother, and furious at this betrayal, Rachel sets herself up in London under a new identity. There she insinuates herself into the party-going crowd of Bright Young Things, with a steely determination to unveil her father’s perfidy and bring his-and her half-sister’s-charmed world crashing down. Very soon, however, Rachel faces two unexpected snags: she finds she genuinely likes her half-sister, Olivia, whose situation isn’t as simple it appears; and she might just be falling for her sister’s fiancé…

From Lauren Willig, author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Ashford Affair, comes The Other Daughter, a page-turner full of deceit, passion, and revenge..

Rachel Woodley is a somewhat shy and unassuming young woman working as a nursery governess in France. When she receives a telegram five days late about her mother being ill, she finally stands up for herself and quits her job to return to England. Upon her return home she finds out that not only has her mother died, but she’s missed the funeral. To add insult to injury, she then finds out her presumably deceased father is still alive with another daughter. What follows is Rachel’s quest to find out more about her father and his other family in Lauren Willig’s latest, The Other Daughter.

Once Rachel learns the truth about her father, she has the opportunity to change her life view from behind the stairs as a nursery governess, to that of an estranged cousin to Simon Montfort. With Simon’s assistance, Rachel soon becomes Vera Merton and enters the world of her half-sister, Lady Olivia Standish. The only person in this upper-crust world that Rachel/Vera seems to have anything in common with is Olivia’s fiancé, John Trevannion. The longer Rachel stays in her role as Vera, the more she realizes that her search for the truth just might end up hurting one of the people she’s come to admire, her half-sister.

I found The Other Daughter to be a fast-paced, enjoyable, and engrossing read. The story is set in the mid-1920s after WWI. Ms. Willig mentions some of the problems of British society at the time, lack of jobs, lack of sufficient pay, and the ongoing psychological trauma for those that fought in the war, but none are discussed in great detail. I enjoyed Rachel’s role as Vera Merton and was somewhat surprised by how well she adapted from the shy, unassuming young woman from the country to a popular and witty Bright Young Thing in the city. The Other Daughter provides tons of drama: daughters beholden to their mothers, sons beholden to their families and estates, etc. There aren’t any bad guys in The Other Daughter, just plenty of interesting characters and situations making for a good read. If you enjoy reading historical fiction or about family drama, then you’ll want to add The Other Daughter to your reading list.

Read an excerpt from The Other Daughter here.

Disclaimer: I received a print copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2015 Book 192: SUMMER SECRETS by Jane Green

Summer Secrets by Jane Green
ISBN: 9781250047342 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781466847743 (ebook)
ASIN: B00QQWJ0E8 (Kindle edition)
Publication date: June 23, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Jane Green delivers her second blockbuster novel of 2015, a story of one woman struggling to right the wrongs of her past, with even more complications in the present.

June, 1998: At twenty seven, Catherine Coombs, also known as Cat, is struggling. She lives in London, works as a journalist, and parties hard. Her lunchtimes consist of several glasses of wine at the bar downstairs in the office, her evenings much the same, swigging the free booze and eating the free food at a different launch or party every night. When she discovers the identity of the father she never knew she had, it sends her into a spiral. She makes mistakes that cost her the budding friendship of the only women who have ever welcomed her. And nothing is ever the same after that.

June, 2014: Cat has finally come to the end of herself. She no longer drinks. She wants to make amends to those she has hurt. Her quest takes her to Nantucket, to the gorgeous summer community where the women she once called family still live. Despite her sins, will they welcome her again? What Cat doesn’t realize is that these women, her real father’s daughters, have secrets of their own. As the past collides with the present, Cat must confront the darkest things in her own life and uncover the depths of someone’s need for revenge.

It’s the late 1990s and Catherine “Cat” Coombs is no different from all of the other twenty-somethings, or so she thinks. It’s perfectly normal, in her mind, to spend her afternoons and evenings with lots of liquid libation. It’s perfectly normal to black-out after imbibing a bit much. It’s perfect normal to wake up in bed with your newly discovered half-sister’s boyfriend. Wait . . . what?! This isn’t normal behavior, but Cat talks herself into believing that her drinking binges are well within the range of normal until she wakes up naked with her sister’s boyfriend in bed beside her.

Flash forward sixteen years and Cat has finally become sober. She knows that she’s a recovering alcoholic and that she’ll always be a recovering alcoholic. Rock bottom for her was when her husband, the love of her life, left her and took their daughter with him. Cat knows that she has to take it one day at a time, and she has taken great strides in doing the program, or AA. Her last major hurdle is making amends with her half-sisters across the pond. Is it possible for someone to forgive the unforgivable or is Cat setting simply setting herself up for disaster?

I’m sure the big question you’re asking is did I enjoy reading Summer Secrets? The answer is a resounding YES! I know I’ve said it before, but this book pulled me in from the beginning and I read it in one sitting over one afternoon. Okay, I took a small break to talk to my mother on the phone for a few minutes, but that was the only interruption I allowed (it was my elderly mother people; I couldn’t ignore her phone call). Ms. Green has the amazing ability to create characters and situations that are incredibly realistic and wholly believable. I may not be a recovering alcoholic, but I could empathize with Cat and her problems. I don’t have any sisters and have never slept (drunk or otherwise) with anyone else’s significant other, but I could relate to the horror of the situation. Younger Cat romanticized her life and the situations around her; older Cat may have periodic romantic daydreams but deals with reality, no matter how much it hurts. Summer Secrets is an amazing story about self-discovery, recovery, and forgiveness. This story incorporates personal recovery with family drama, teen drama, family secrets, and much more set in scenic Nantucket, Massachusetts and London, England. I’ve used the term “hopeful-ever-after” about other books and Summer Secrets is just that . . . a story about hope for a better tomorrow while dealing with today. If you haven’t read any books by Ms. Green, then grab a copy of Summer Secrets soon, as this is the perfect story for a lazy summer afternoon. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future, and something tells me I’ll probably be rereading Summer Secrets soon (yes, it was that good!).

Listen to an audiobook excerpt of Summer Secrets here.

Disclaimer: I purchased a digital copy of this book for review purposes. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2015 Book 143: THOSE GIRLS Review

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens

ISBN: 9781250034588 (hardcover)

ISBN: 9781250034595 (ebook)

ASIN: B00R1AWE1A (Kindle edition)

Publication date: July 7, 2015

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Chevy Stevens is back with her most powerful, emotional thriller yet — a story of survival…and revenge.

Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father’s fists. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. Events spiral out of control and a chance encounter with the wrong people leaves them in a horrific and desperate situation. They are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.

Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer when one of the sisters goes missing and they are pulled back into their past.

This time there’s nowhere left to run.

As much of a thriller as it is a deep exploration of the bonds among sisters, Those Girls is an unforgettable portrait of desperation, loyalty, and evil.

Jess, Courtney, and Dani Campbell now that life is hard. They’ve suffered the loss of their mother, the loss of their home, and the constant abuse at the hands of their alcoholic father. After living in foster care for a few months after their mother died, the girls vow to do whatever is necessary to ensure they never have to return to foster care. Their father often leaves them alone for weeks at a time with little money for food and other necessities. All three girls work hard on the ranch to help offset their rent. Life gets much harder for the girls when they run away from their abusive home and find themselves in an even more abusive environment. Fortunately, they are able to escape and begin their lives over in Vancouver with new identities. Those Girls asks just how far are you willing to go to protect your family?

Those Girls starts off in 1997 with Jess, Courtney, and Dani struggling to survive. They steal food when necessary and often steal other incidentals to get by. Jess is the youngest and the most studious. Dani is the oldest and strives to provide for her sisters and keep them in check at all times. Courtney is the middle sister and the wild child. Courtney knows she’s attractive and uses her physical beauty to get boys and men. It is this behavior that causes their father to go off and attempt to kill Courtney. After doing everything possible to get their father to stop, the unthinkable happens and the girls run away in a dilapidated truck heading to Vancouver. They don’t have enough money for gas or food and steal what they can on their road trip. When their truck breaks down, they accept an offer to work on a local ranch to get money for repairs. What followed is the worst thing imaginable — abduction and repeated rapes at the hands of two evil and sadistic young men. After five days of rapes and brutality the girls escape and a local pub owner provides them with bus fare and the name of someone that can help them in Vancouver. It is in Vancouver that they became Jaimie, Crystal, and Dallas. And a few months after they arrive they learn that Jaimie is pregnant.

Fast forward to the summer of 2015 and we meet Skylar, Jaimie’s teenage daughter. After several incidents involving Crystal, Skylar learns the truth about her birth father and how she was conceived. It is apparent to all that Crystal has become unstable and after an intervention, Crystal takes off. Skylar lies to her mother and takes off after Crystal. Skylar thinks that her aunt has returned to Cash Creek to possibly confront her abductors and rapists. While Skylar investigates her aunt’s disappearance, she unknowingly places herself in serious danger as she thinks about confronting her birth father and meets her half-brother and half-sister. The more Skylar learns the more dangerous the situation becomes until she is abducted at the hands of her birth father’s brother.

I began reading Those Girls at approximately 6 PM on a Thursday evening and didn’t put it down until I had finished it at approximately 11 PM that same evening. Okay, I took a dinner break and then cleaned the kitchen up after eating, but that was the only downtime other than preparing a couple of cups of tea. I found Those Girls to be a fast-paced and engrossing read. Yes, it was difficult to read about the abuse and rapes suffered by Jess, Courtney, and Dani, but Ms. Stevens presented these incidents without hype or sensationalization. There is tragedy after tragedy in the lives of Jess, Courtney, Dani and even Skylar, but there are also periods of hope. The bad guys are not just bad but truly despicable human beings and downright evil. Does good prevail over evil? You’ll have to read the book to find out for yourself. Those Girls covers a lot of topics: child abuse, alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, abduction, rape, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, teen runaways, etc. It is easy to think that Those Girls is going to be a dark, depressing, and twisted read, but it isn’t. Those Girls is just as much about survival, hope, and family as it is about anything. Just in case you couldn’t tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the characters to be well developed and the action to be very realistic. If you enjoy reading thrillers that encompass much more than just the dark and twisted then you’ll definitely want to add Those Girls to your TBR list.

Read an excerpt from Those Girls here.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free for review purposes from the publisher via GoodReads First Reads. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2015 Book 27: FIRST FROST Review

First Frost (Waverley Family #2) by Sarah Addison Allen
ISBN: 9781250019837 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250019844 (ebook)
ASIN: B00LDQXASE (Kindle edition)
Publication date: January 20, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

From the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells comes a story of the Waverley family, in a novel as sparkling as the first dusting of frost on new-fallen leaves…

It’s October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree…and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store.

Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley’s Candies. Though her handcrafted confections—rose to recall lost love, lavender to promote happiness and lemon verbena to soothe throats and minds—are singularly effective, the business of selling them is costing her the everyday joys of her family, and her belief in her own precious gifts.

Sydney Waverley, too, is losing her balance. With each passing day she longs more for a baby— a namesake for her wonderful Henry. Yet the longer she tries, the more her desire becomes an unquenchable thirst, stealing the pleasure out of the life she already has.

Sydney’s daughter, Bay, has lost her heart to the boy she knows it belongs to…if only he could see it, too. But how can he, when he is so far outside her grasp that he appears to her as little more than a puff of smoke?

When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of their family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before. And through it all, the Waverley sisters must search for a way to hold their family together through their troublesome season of change, waiting for that extraordinary event that is First Frost.

Lose yourself in Sarah Addison Allen’s enchanting world and fall for her charmed characters in this captivating story that proves that a happily-ever-after is never the real ending to a story. It’s where the real story begins.

Welcome back to Bascom, North Carolina, home to the mystical Waverley family. Claire is married and has a daughter. Prior to her marriage to Tyler, her reputation as a caterer was set, but Claire has veered away from catering and is now making candies. Sydney has purchased the hair salon and has married Henry. Both sisters have seen their dreams fulfilled with careers, loving spouses, and a great family, yet both are yearning for something more. While the family eagerly awaits “first frost” (a truly magical time for the Waverley family), a stranger comes to town. What does his visit mean for the Waverleys in general and for Claire specifically?

Claire is happily married. She’s also happy that her daughter doesn’t appear to have any of the Waverley magic. Claire’s previous catering business was beloved by all around Bascom. Her candy business is just as beloved, but is more time-consuming and emotionally draining than she had thought possible. In Garden Spells, Claire was unsure of herself but knew that her Waverley magic was found in food and the flowers she incorporated into her cooking. After finding one of her grandmother’s cookbooks filled with candy recipes, Claire starts making candies using Waverley flowers. Claire is lost and foundering with this new business. She doesn’t have time to cook for her family and is no longer taking an active role in her daughter’s extracurricular activities.

Sydney’s magic is in hairstyling. She is no longer the pariah in Bascom, but a successful business woman and happily married to Henry. The only thing that Sydney yearns for is a child, preferably a son. Her desire for another child even has her latching onto the child of her receptionist. Sydney’s focus is so centered on her desires that she misses out on what is going on with her daughter Bay. Bay has always known where everything belongs, and she knows that she belongs with Josh Matteson . . . yes that’s the son of Hunter John Matteson, Sydney’s high school beau.

First Frost is another delightful read from Ms. Allen. This return to Bascom and the Waverleys answers questions that many readers had about Claire, Sydney, Bay, and Evanelle, and raised a few more. This time around Claire is questioning whether she has any Waverley magic and if she is truly a Waverley. Sydney is so caught up in her own desire for a child that she has missed quite a bit of what is going on with the child she already has. Evanelle is still living with Fred, but she is suffering declining health and has passed her Waverley magic of knowing what someone needs onto Fred. I found First Frost to be a fast-paced read. The primary characters are the female members of the Waverley family, but the reader is also given insight into the mysterious stranger visiting Bascom. Who is this stranger and what does he have to do with the Waverleys? Does Claire find the answers she’s seeking? Will Sydney be able to give Henry a son? Does Bay get the boy she wants? I could answer those questions for you, but I’ll simply say this . . . grab a copy of First Frost to read and find the answers for yourself. If you haven’t already read Garden Spells, grab a copy of that and read it before you read First Frost. If you’ve already read Garden Spells, then you’ll definitely want to get your copy of First Frost.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free for review purposes from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”