About the Book Book: The Purple Nightgown Author: A.D. Lawrence Genre: Christian Historical Suspense Release date: March, 2021 Marvel at true but forgotten history when patients check into Linda Hazzard’s Washington state spa in 1912 and soon become victim of her twisted greed. Book 10 in the True Colors series—Fiction Based on Strange-But True History Heiress Stella Burke is plagued by insincere suitors and nonstop headaches. Exhausting all other medical aides for her migraines, Stella reads Fasting for the Cure of Disease by Linda Hazzard and determines to go to the spa the author runs. Stella’s chauffer and long-time friend, Henry Clayton, is reluctant to leave her at the spa. Something doesn’t feel right to him, still Stella submits herself into Linda Hazzard’s care. Stella soon learns the spa has a dark side and Linda a mean streak. But when Stella has had enough, all ways to leave are suddenly blocked. Will Stella become a walking skeleton like many of the other patients or succumb to a worse fate? Review I’ve enjoyed the True Colors books that I’ve read – fictionalized stories based on historical true crimes. This one was unusual and interesting. The author did a good job of Read More
Category: Reviews
The Killing Tide ~ Dani Pettrey’s Coastal Guardian Series
The Killing Tide Several years ago, I found the audiobook Submerged on my library’s website. I’d never heard of the author before, but it ticked all the right boxes: Christian, suspense, family, exciting location, and intriguing story. I LOVED that book. I bought a copy for my Kindle, and I’ve read it several times. And listened to it again, too. As each new book in the series was released, I bought the digital book and borrowed the audio from the library. Later, Ms. Pettrey wrote a prequel novella, and I got that one, too. The Alaskan Courage Series is s till one of my very favorite series. She next wrote the Chesapeake Valor series, and I enjoyed those, too. So when Celebrate Lit announced openings for The Killing Tide blog tour, I signed up immediately. By then, I’d already listened to the book, and I knew what I wanted to say about it! Dani Pettrey writes tightly-plotted, complex stories. They are always interesting, with surprises and plot twists that feel plausible. Because The Killing Tide is the first book in a new series (Coastal Guardians), there was a lot of information and many characters to introduce. It was just a Read More
Smoke Screen by Terri Blackstock – a review
Smoke Screen ~ A New Story from a Favorite Author! I heard a writing teacher say once that it’s much harder to write a truly good character than to write a flawed one. She said that readers would dislike the “perfect” people. I thought I’d feel that way about the hero of Smoke Screen. After Nate nobly saved an entire family (and their dog) from their burning home, then worried more about his team than about his own injuries, he was looking a little too good to be true. Ho-hum. But then the author did her trademark thing: she made his life messy. She gave him a very complicated family. She gave him a bad reputation. Now, he was a genuinely good and likable guy, but he was interesting, too. Terri Blackstock is really good at that! The heroine was easier to dislike – a weak woman with a drinking problem, when she should have been stronger and stayed sober if she really wanted to keep her kids. Instead, she wallowed in self-pity and hopelessness. So irritating. But… just as she has in so many other books, Terri Blackstock took that character and made her real. She was still doing Read More
Fragments of Fear by Carrie Stuart Parks
Fragments of Fear From award-winning author Carrie Stuart Parks comes a new novel with danger that reaches from a New Mexico Anasazi archaeological dig to micro- and nano-chip technology. Evelyn Yvonne McTavish-Tavish to her friends-had her almost perfect world in Albuquerque, New Mexico, come to a crashing end with the suicide of her fiancé. As she struggles to put her life back together and make a living from her art, she’s given the news that her dog is about to be destroyed at the dog pound. Except she doesn’t own a dog. The shelter is adamant that the microchip embedded in the canine-with her name and address-makes it hers. Tavish recognizes the dog as one owned by an archaeologist named Pat Caron because she did a commissioned drawing of the two of them months earlier. The simple solution is to return the dog to his owner, but she arrives only to discover Caron’s murdered body. After meeting undercover FBI agent Sawyer Price the mystery deepens as more people start disappearing and Tavish becomes a target as well. Her only solution is to find the links between microchip technology, an Anasazi site in the desert, her fiancé’s death, a late-night radio Read More
Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock
About the Book Book: Catching Christmas Author: Terri Blackstock Genre: Christian Fiction, Romance, Christmas Release Date: October 9, 201 This Year, Christmas Comes Just in Time As a first-year law associate, Sydney Batson knows she will be updating her resume by New Year’s if she loses her current court case. So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic. The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter. When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do Read More
A Sparkle of Silver by Liz Johnson
I’ve been busy preparing for the launch of Comfort & Joy, the 2018 Christmas Lights novella collection, but I took time to enjoy the new Liz Johnson book, A Sparkle of Silver. I’ve read other books by Liz Johnson, so when I was offered an advance reader copy of A Sparkle of Silver, I accepted it gladly and appreciated the break from my own writing! I really enjoyed it. (Her book, not the break.) Millie and Ben are relatable – broke. burdened with responsibilities and guilt, doing the best they can in hard circumstances. They’re genuinely good people we like to root for. We want them to succeed at finding the treasure because they aren’t just doing it for fun, being greedy. They need the money. Ben is stubbornly trying to make restitution for something that wasn’t his fault. Millie is desperate, working against a deadline to find enough money to pay for her grandmother’s care. The setting – an opulent 1920’s era mansion with a history of lavish parties for the wealthy elite of Georgia – was intriguing. To gain access to the house, Millie got a job as a reenactor – dressing in the vintage clothing and putting Read More