Review: Fog City Strangler, by Greg Messel

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About the book, Fog City Strangler

Fog City Strangler

As 1958 nears an end San Francisco is being terrorized by a man who calls himself the “Fog City Strangler,” who preys on pretty young blonde women. The strangler announces each murder by sending a note and piece of cloth from the victim’s dresses to the local newspapers.

Private eye Sam Slater is worried that the Fog City Strangler may be eyeing his beautiful blonde wife, stewardess Amelia Ryan. Sam’s angst mounts as the strangler continues to claim more victims. His anxiety is further fueled when TWA launches an advertising campaign with Amelia’s picture on a series of billboards plastered all over the city. Sam fears the billboards may attract too much attention–the wrong kind of attention.

Meanwhile, Sam and Amelia are hired to try to find the missing daughter of a wealthy dowager who fears she has lost her only child. The missing woman went for a walk with her dog on Stinson Beach, near San Francisco, and seemingly vanished into thin air. The woman’s husband arrived at their beach house and found the dog running loose but there was no trace of his wife. The police are stumped in their investigation.

As Sam and Amelia look into the disappearance of the woman on the beach they discover that nothing is as it seems at first glance. On a stormy night a shadowy figure sets fire to the beach house where the couple is staying–hoping to stop their investigation.

Fog City Strangler is a stand-alone thriller but is part of the Sam Slater Mystery Series–Last of the Seals, Deadly Plunge and San Francisco Secrets.

Buy a copy.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Greg Messel

Greg Messel

Greg Messel grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound with his wife, Carol. Fog City Strangler is his seventh novel and is the fourth in a new series of Sam Slater mystery novels. Greg has lived in Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming and Utah and has always loved writing, including stints as a reporter, columnist and news editor for a daily newspaper.

Connect with Greg:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts:

San Francisco is my favorite American city. It was where I spent the day for my 13th birthday, where my husband and I shared our first weekend together, and where I went to college (Go USF Dons!), so when I was offered the opportunity to read/review a noir mystery set in the City by the Bay, I had to say yes.

Fog City Strangler did not disappoint. From the first scene, where Amelia is trapped between fire and an unknown assailant in her Stinson Beach beachhouse to the very last page, the story was gripping and action-packed. Sam Slater is a fantastic character, and while his exploits are new to me, I’m hooked enough to want to read the other books he inhabits.

Author Messel does a great job of making a period piece seem neither campy nor outdated, and making his stories relevant for a contemporary audience.

In short, Fog City Strangler is the perfect book to curl up with on a rainy day. Just make sure that you keep the windows closed and the doors locked while you read.

Goes Well with Cioppino and Anchor Steam beer.

Fog City Strangler

Greg Messel is giving away a 3 book set of his Sam Slater Mystery Series (Last of the Seals, Deadly Plunge and San Francisco Secrets AND a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive the 3 book set and $25 Amazon Gift Card.
• This giveaway begins February 3 and ends on March 28.
• Winner will be contacted via email on Monday, March 31, 2014.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!

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Review: Three Souls

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About the book, Three Souls

Three Souls

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (February 25, 2014)

An absorbing novel of romance and revolution, loyalty and family, sacrifice and undying love

We have three souls, or so I’d been told. But only in death could I confirm this….

So begins the haunting and captivating tale, set in 1935 China, of the ghost of a young woman named Leiyin, who watches her own funeral from above and wonders why she is being denied entry to the afterlife. Beside her are three souls—stern and scholarly yang; impulsive, romantic yin; and wise, shining hun—who will guide her toward understanding. She must, they tell her, make amends.

As Leiyin delves back in time with the three souls to review her life, she sees the spoiled and privileged teenager she once was, a girl who is concerned with her own desires while China is fractured by civil war and social upheaval. At a party, she meets Hanchin, a captivating left-wing poet and translator, and instantly falls in love with him.

When Leiyin defies her father to pursue Hanchin, she learns the harsh truth—that she is powerless over her fate. Her punishment for disobedience leads to exile, an unwanted marriage, a pregnancy, and, ultimately, her death. And when she discovers what she must do to be released from limbo into the afterlife, Leiyin realizes that the time for making amends is shorter than she thought.

Suffused with history and literature, Three Souls is an epic tale of revenge and betrayal, forbidden love, and the price we are willing to pay for freedom.

Buy a copy, and read it for yourself.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Janie Chang

Janie Chang

Born in Taiwan, Janie Chang spent part of her childhood in the Philippines, Iran, and Thailand. She holds a degree in computer science and is a graduate of the Writer’s Studio Program at Simon Fraser University. Three Souls is her first novel.

Connect with Janie

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

I’ve been reading a lot of novels set in the “interwar” period between the first and second world wars this year, and Three Souls is the most recent of them, and also the last for a while. It’s an interesting period, and I’ve loved that two of the books set during these years focused on Asia, rather than being totally Eurocentric.

This book, in particular, I found to be really enjoyable, as it so nicely blends elements of magical realism – our narrator is dead at the novel’s beginning, after all – with pragmatic reality – “You haven’t seen me in years, and the first thing you notice is my new glasses?” (That’s a paraphrase, because I closed the book and lost the page, but it’s a close paraphrase.)

Whether the narrator is describing her disappointing wedding night or talking about the poet she wants and can’t have her voice is clear. We know her, and I, at least, resonated very strongly with her desire to choose her own path.

Three Souls is my first introduction to Janie Chang’s work. I really hope she ends up being prolific, because I love the way she writes, and I found this novel, in particular, to be not just engaging, but entrancing. Brava, Ms. Chang!

Goes well with strong black tea (Lapsang Souchong, maybe?) and far too many pot-stickers (I like the Korean version) to confess to in print.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a virtual book tour sponsored by TLC Book Tours. For the tour page, and more information, click here.

Review: Deceiving Lies by Molly McAdams

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About the book, Deceiving Lies

Deceiving Lies

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 4, 2014)

The irresistible, blazing-hot sequel to New York Times bestselling author Molly McAdams’s Forgiving Lies

Rachel is supposed to be planning her wedding to Kash, the love of her life. After the crazy year they’ve had, she’s ready to settle down and live a completely normal life. Well, as normal as it can be. But there’s something else waiting—something threatening to tear them apart.

Kash is ready for it all with Rachel, especially if “all” includes having a football team of babies with his future wife. In his line of work, Kash knows how short life can be and doesn’t want to waste another minute of their life together. But now his past as an undercover narcotics agent has come back to haunt him . . . and it’s the girl he loves who’s caught in the middle.

Trent Cruz’s orders are clear: take the girl. But there’s something about this girl that has him changing the rules and playing a dangerous game to keep her safe. When his time as Rachel’s protector runs out, Trent will turn his back on the only life he’s known—and risk everything if it means getting her out alive.

Buy a copy

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Molly McAdams

Molly McAdams

Molly McAdams grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband and furry four-legged daughters. Her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach . . . which roughly translates to being a homebody and dishing out movie quotes with her hubby, or hiding in her writing cave trying to get her characters’ stories out.

Connect with Molly

Web | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

While I received a copy of the book immediately preceding Deceiving Lies, both arrived at my door the night before I left for vacation, and I didn’t have a lot of time to read, so I jumped directly into book two – this book – in order to finish on time. (As it was, I still had to move the date.)

In any case, jumping into this series in the middle wasn’t much of a problem, as Molly McAdams writes characters so real, so familiar, that it was very like visiting long-lost relatives: the rhythms are in your blood, but the details are new.

What I especially like is the way McAdams writes relationships. While Rachel and Kash are young, they’re still absolutely adults – dealing with adult issues, like when (and whether) to start a family, adopting an animal, old lovers, etc, and I felt like the shoe conversation in the first few chapters was especially dead on. I mean, my husband and I had similar conversations when we were first combining our households.

I don’t read a lot of “typical” romances, but McAdams’ series is anything buy typical. This novel, in particular, included a nice balance of jeopardy, drama, and happy relationships, which made it the perfect beach book, even though it didn’t take place anywhere near the beach.

Goes well with limonada mineral and grilled shrimp tacos.

TLC Book Tours

This tour is part of a virtual book tour sponsored by TLC Book Tours. For more information, click here.

Everybody’s Talking About Sisterhood

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The Moon Sisters

With the publication of Therese Walsh’s new novel, The Moon Sisters, the lovely folks over at The Muffin are celebrating sisterhood, and when I heard about it, I had to participate, but here’s the thing: I don’t have any biological sisters. I have a step-sister (sort of) and a few sisters-in-law, but I was an only child until I was twelve, and then I inherited a slightly-older step-brother, so the people I consider sisters are my chosen family, more often than not.

One of them, Cathy, is actually my cousin, but she was my “big sister” for most of my life. It was Cathy who spent hours with me, making home movies that we wrote and performed in, baking and cooking and playing with dolls. It was even Cathy who gave me my first bra. Her mother, my own mother’s cousin, shared her birthday with me, and used to call me her birthday girl, so we had a sister-like bond from the time I was born, really, and while our interests have diverged and our politics don’t always align, she’s family, and she is my sister in every way that counts.

Then there’s my friend Alisa. We don’t really talk much these days, interacting mainly via Facebook (she’s incredible at Scramble with Friends), but when we were kids, my mother sliced our hands (nicked, really) open so we could be blood sisters. We didn’t have headdresses like the girls in The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, but we did have matching t-shirts when we were seven.

More recently, my spiritual sisters have expanded to include my friend Kathy, who was there for me when I had a miscarriage several years ago while my husband was traveling for work, who knows my dogs as well as I do, and who lets me borrow her children and use them as guinea pigs when I do experimental baking. She’s a visual artist, while I play with words, but we have in common the creative spirit.

Does it matter that none of these women are technically related to me? No. In fact, I think the case could be made that all women are sisters at some level, though some of us are closer than others. This is why it drives me crazy when women don’t support each other. No, we all don’t think alike, dress alike, behave alike, but there is far more that unites us than divides us, and I think we should embrace that.

Which brings me to this awesome new novel by Therese Walsh – The Moon Sisters. Here’s a bit about the book:

In The Moon Sisters, her second novel, Therese Walsh wanted to write about one sister’s quest to find will-o’-the-wisp light, which was her mother’s unfulfilled dream. Also called “foolish fires”, these lights are sometimes seen over wetlands and are thought to lead those who follow them to treasure. Despite the promise, they are never captured and sometimes lead to injury or even death for adventurers who follow them. The metaphor of that fire – that some dreams and goals are impossible to reach, and that hope itself may not be innately good – eventually rooted its way into deeper meaning as the Moon sisters tried to come to terms with real-world dreams and hopes, and with each other, in their strange new world.

Olivia and Jazz Moon are polar opposites: one a dreamy synesthete, able to see sounds and smell sights and the other controlling and reality driven. What will happen when they are plunged into 24/7 togetherness and control is not an option? Will they ever be able to see the world through the other’s eyes and confront the things they fear the most? Death. Suicide. The loss of faith and hope. Will they ultimately believe that life is worth living, despite the lack of promise?

The writing of The Moon Sisters was a five year journey and at times author Therese Walsh felt like it was her own “foolish fire”. But remember, some fires are worth the chase!

I haven’t read it yet – though I have it sitting on my to-be-read pile (look for my review on March 20th), but it sounds like a truly fantastic story for anyone who has a little bit of magic left in her soul, or who has shared a secret with a sister, even if she is a sister of the soul, and not one of blood.

Therese Walsh If you want to be among the first to read The Moon Sisters, you can buy it from Amazon.com, on Kindle or as a physical copy. (I love my Kindle, but I miss trading books with my friends when I only read ebooks.)

You can also find out more about the author, herself, by visiting her website: ThereseWalsh.com where you can find book club information, a personality quiz based on characters in the novel, and much, much more.

Also, don’t forget to stop by The Muffin and enter to win a copy of The Moon Sisters for yourself. Read it, then pass it along to your own sister. It’s nice to share.

Review: The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

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About the book, The Perfume Collector

The Perfume Collector

About The Perfume Collector

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (February 4, 2014)

London, 1955: Grace Monroe is a fortunate young woman. Despite her sheltered upbringing in Oxford, her recent marriage has thrust her into the heart of London’s most refined and ambitious social circles. However, playing the role of the sophisticated socialite her husband would like her to be doesn’t come easily to her—and perhaps never will.

Then one evening a letter arrives from France that will change everything. Grace has received an inheritance from a mysterious benefactor, Eva d’Orsey, whom she’s never met.

So begins a search that takes Grace to a long-abandoned perfume shop on Paris’s Left Bank, where she discovers the seductive world of perfumers and their muses, and a surprising love story. Told by invoking the three distinctive perfumes she inspired, Eva d’Orsey’s story weaves through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London.

But these three perfumes hold secrets. And as Eva’s past and Grace’s future intersect, Grace must choose between the life she thinks she should live and the person she is truly meant to be.

Buy a copy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Kathleen Tessaro

Kathleen Tessaro

Kathleen Tessaro is the author of Elegance, Innocence, The Flirt, and The Debutante. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband and son.

Find out more about Kathleen at her website and connect with her on Facebook.

My Thoughts:

Kathleen Tessaro knows how to hook readers. With both description and dialogue, she had me invested in Eva d’Orsey from almost the first page of The Perfume Collector and when I ‘met’ Grace several pages later, I was instantly invested in her as well.

As someone who has a love/hate relationship with ‘period’ pieces, I really appreciated the level of detail Tessaro put into this novel. Paris in the 20s felt distinctly different from Paris and London in the 50s and so on. As well, Paris and London were distinct from each other, set apart, not just by fashion and street names, but with subtle changes in language choice and tone.

These things, as much as plot, are what make novels work for me.

But The Perfume Collector did not suffer any plot-related shortcomings. It was gripping, compelling me to read it straight through, skipping at least one meal, and causing at least one tub of bathwater to grow cold while I was in it (my ultimate measure of a great novel is ‘does it keep me in the tub?’).

I haven’t read Tessaro’s other work, but if they’re half as good as The Perfume Collector I simply must.

Goes well with Croque monsieur and fizzy lemonade.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a book tour from TLC BookTours. For more information, click here.

Review: The Good Luck of Right Now, by Matthew Quick

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About the book, The Good Luck of Right Now

The Good Luck of Right Now

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper (February 11, 2014)

Call it fate
Call it synchronicity
Call it an act of God
Call it . . . The Good Luck of Right Now

For thirty-eight years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday Mass, and the library learn how to fly?

Bartholomew thinks he’s found a clue when he discovers a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother’s underwear drawer. In her final days, Mom called him Richard—there must be a cosmic connection. Believing that the actor is meant to help him, Bartholomew awkwardly starts his new life by writing Richard Gere a series of letters. Jung and the Dalai Lama, philosophy and faith, alien abduction and cat telepathy, the Catholic Church and the mystery of women, are all explored in his soul-baring epistles. But mostly the letters reveal one man’s heartbreakingly earnest attempt to assemble a family of his own.

A struggling priest, a “Girlbrarian,” her feline-loving, foulmouthed brother, and the spirit of Richard Gere join the quest to help Bartholomew. In a rented Ford Focus, they travel to Canada to see the Cat Parliament and find Bartholomew’s biological father . . . and discover so much more.

Buy a copy

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick is the author of The Silver Linings Playbook, which was made into an Academy Award-winning film, and the young adult novels Sorta Like a Rock Star, Boy21, and Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. He is married to the novelist-pianist Alicia Bessette.

Connect with Matthew:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

This review is really late, not because I wasn’t finished with the book (I was!) but because as I sat down to write it this morning, canine chaos erupted in my back yard. (My foster-dog had pinned my year-old rottie mix to the ground and was chewing on his flank, then my pointer mix tried to pull her off of him by biting her face. Blood and fur and yelping animals everywhere. NOT an auspicious start to the morning.) So, if this seems a bit disjointed, well, I’m sorry.

I haven’t read (or seen) The Silver Linings Playbook, so I don’t know if The Good Luck of Right Now is written in Matthew Quick’s typical style or not, but I liked the convention of an epistolary novel formed by letters to Richard Gere. It was quirky and innovative and when the book addressed some darker issues, that convention kept things from becoming unrelentingly grim.

I also really liked the characters – Bartholomew seems basically affable and sweet, if obviously not-quite-neurotypical. Father McNamee was a solid presence and the “Girlbrarian” was just amazing (as was her brother).

Having lived through my grandmother’s dementia, I could relate, especially, to those moments when Bartholomew’s mother forgot who he was, or insisted he was Richard Gere. In fact, those scenes played nicely against the eventual road trip to Canada, and the very sweet developing relationship between Bartholomew and Elizabeth.

Bottom line? This novel defies convention, but it’s all the more compelling for doing so, and I’m really glad I read it.

Goes well with Enchilada pie and a tossed salad..

TLC Book Tours

Spotlight on: Til I Find You, by Greta Bondieumaitre

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Til I Find You

About the book, Til I Find You

Til I Find You

No one knows how bumpy the road to love is more than Tisha Cole. After years of excruciatingly embarrassing dates, the 25-year-old receptionist is ready to hand in her dating license, but her cynical cousin, Drew, will not let her. She knows that finding Mr. Right has always been Tisha’s ultimate goal in life and short of joining the search herself, Drew plans on doing whatever it is in her power to help Tisha find him. When they cross paths with two best friends and a very sexy entrepreneur, there’s a slight change in plans.

Drew who has always been adamant about keeping her single status begins to doubt her immunity to Tisha’s lovesickness.

Tisha has hit the jackpot with not one but two perfect dates! Where next will her quest for love take her when she decides to upgrade her relationship—with both men!

Two not-so-sweet cousins, three not-so-honest men. With the many potholes and crossroads along the way, will Tisha ever reach her destination?

Buy a copy!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Greta Bondieumaitre

Greta Bondieumaitre

Greta Bondieumaitre is from St. Lucia, a small but lively island in the Caribbean. She started writing love stories between classes in high school to amuse her friends at lunch time. Ten years later, she published her first novel, Her Heart’s Desire. She later published, Play Me A Love Song and recently, ‘Til I Find You. She describes writing during her post-high school years as “self therapy.”

Connect with Greta

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Til I Find You

Review: The Kept Girl, by Kim Cooper

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The Kept Girl - tour

About the book, The Kept Girl

The Kept Girl - Cover

Los Angeles, 1929: a glittering metropolis on the crest of an epic crash. A mysterious prophetess and her alluring daughter have relieved an oil tycoon’s nephew of his fortune. But the kid won’t talk. To find the money, the old man calls on a trusted executive, Raymond Chandler, who in turn enlists the aid of his devoted secretary/mistress, Muriel Fischer, and their idealistic patrolman friend Tom James.

Soon the nephew is revealed as a high-ranking member of a murderous cult of angel worshippers, and the trio plunges into an investigation that sends them careening across Southern California, from sinister sanitariums to roadside burger stands, decaying Bunker Hill mansions to sparkling cocktail parties, taxi dance halls to the morgue, all in search of the secretive Great Eleven. But when Muriel goes undercover to infiltrate the group’s rural lair, she comes face to face with disturbing truths that threaten to spoil everything, not just for the cult’s members, but for herself as well.

A work of fiction inspired by actual events and featuring the real-life cop who is a likely model for the mature Chandler’s greatest creation, private eye Philip Marlowe, Kim Cooper’s The Kept Girl exposes a mystery so horrifying, it could only be true.

Buy a copy

Esotouric | Amazon

About the author, Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including Pasadena Confidential, the Real Black Dahlia and Weird West Adams. Her collaborative L.A. history blogs include On Bunker Hill and In SRO Land. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons of LAVA – The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life: Inspiration from a 73-Year Marriage, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of the cult band Neutral Milk Hotel. The Kept Girl is her first novel.

Connect with Kim

Website

My Thoughts

The first thing that struck me about The Kept Girl was, “Wow, this woman can WRITE.” Why? Because from the very first page we are not just glimpsing, but immersed in Los Angeles in the late 20’s. It’s glitz and glamour, oil money and noir detectives, and it’s all mixed together in a way that feels only fresh, never derivative.

Cooper’s main character, Muriel, is smart and tenacious, and I’d happily follow in her footsteps on an investigation. Tying in real history – this novel is based on the real Raymond Chandler’s boss – only adds depth to the story.

This novel isn’t at all fluffy, and yet, it’s a very quick read because the writing just sings and the plot is so well-paced. Support independent booksellers by buying a copy from Esotouric (link above) or grab the kindle version from Amazon. You won’t regret it.

Goes well with Chinese food and beer.

Win a copy of The Kept Girl

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Review: The Taste of Apple Seeds, by Katharina Hagena

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About the book, The Taste of Apple Seeds

The Taste of Apple Seeds

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (February 4, 2014)

The internationally bestselling tale of love, loss, and memories that run deep

When Iris unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s house in the country, she also inherits the painful memories that live there. Iris gives herself a one-week stay at the old house, after which she’ll make a decision: keep it or sell it. The choice is not so simple, though, for her grandmother’s cottage is an enchanting place, where currant jam tastes of tears, sparks fly from fingertips, love’s embrace makes apple trees blossom, and the darkest family secrets never stay buried. . .

Buy a copy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author, Katharina Hagena

Katharina Hagena

Katharina Hagena is the author of On Sleep and Disappearing. She lives in Hamburg, Germany.

My Thoughts

If I were asked to describe this book, I’d say it’s a blend of Like Water for Chocolate and Tales of Hoffmann, which latter is a collection of classic fairy tales with a decidedly Teutonic sensibility. I use this description with affection, because from the first page, I was completely entranced.

I’m not certain whether Hagena writes in English, or if this is a translation, but either way, the language puts the reader into a sort of dreamlike state, where everything is soft-focus and just a little bit off-kilter. Not disconnected, just not quite plumb.

I liked, especially, the character of Iris, from whose perspective we experience this book, but I also liked her Buddhist monk aunt, and the rest of her extended family.

As someone who has always loved rambling old houses, and who absolutely believes that houses (and all buildings) retain a bit of the essence of their inhabitants, I also fell in love with Iris’s inherited house. Sure, there was bitterness and sadness there, but there was also love, hope, and not a little magic, and without the darkness, what is light?

The Taste of Apple Seeds is not a fairy tale. It’s a contemporary novel laced with just enough magical realism to make you smell the fruit, and feel the breeze, and taste the buttercake.

In short, it’s wonderful, and I loved it.

Goes well with Earl Grey tea and a slice of lemon pound cake.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a virtual book tour. For more information, visit the tour page by clicking here.

Review: At the River’s Edge by Mariah Stewart

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About the book, At the River’s Edge

At the River's Edge

After taking stock of her life, Sophie Enright has decided it’s time for a break. Between a law career that’s become criminally dull and a two-timing boyfriend she’s done with once and for all, Sophie desperately needs some time to think and some space to breathe. The perfect place to do both is easygoing St. Dennis, Maryland, where Sophie can visit with her brother while she figures out her options. Once in St. Dennis, she discovers a shuttered restaurant and makes a bold move that is also a leap of faith. Sophie buys the fixer-upper in order to finally pursue her dream career.

But Sophie’s labor of love becomes a bone of contention for her new neighbor Jason Bowers. The local landscaper has big plans for growing his business—until Sophie scoops up the property he’s got his eye on. And no amount of buyout offers or badgering from him will get her to budge. It’s hardly the start of a beautiful friendship. But when they’re paired up to work on a community project, they agree to put their differences aside, and sparks begin to fly. Then Sophie’s cheating ex suddenly shows up, looking for a second chance—and threatening to make Jason a third wheel just when his hotheaded feelings about Sophie were turning decidedly warmhearted. All Sophie wants is a new life and a true love. But what are the odds of having both?

Buy a copy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Mariah Stewart

Mariah Stewart

Mariah Stewart is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and their dogs amid the rolling hills and Amish farms of southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she gardens, reads, and enjoys country life.

My Thoughts

I was first introduced to Mariah Stewart’s series of novels The Chesapeake Diaries, when I received a box containing the first six books in the series late last year. It was cold and wet, and they were great books for that kind of weather, because they fall into a favorite category of mine: small town, beach novels.

At the River’s Edge is the most recent addition to the series, and like it’s predecessors, it takes place in the same continuity, the same version of life on the shores of Chesapeake Bay, in a small town with cute shops and colorful characters. Having lived in not one, but two, such towns (though not on the Chesapeake), I can assure you that Stewart’s depiction of those two elements, and of small town life in general, is dead-on.

This particular novel was a bit weird for me, only because the man who dumps protagonist Sophie in the beginning (well, actually she dumps him after catching him cheating on her) shares my husband’s first name. Once I got beyond that, and into the meat of the story, I was happily entranced by Sophie’s desire to restore a diner. In fact, in many ways this book could have been about me, because I grew up visiting a family diner owned by my cousins, and when it closed, I would happily have bought it, if I’d had the cash.

I was equally enamored with landscaper and love-interest Jason, and I liked the way their relationship began as one of antagonism before passion turned on both characters and things got warm and cozy between them. Was this a bit predictable? Yes. Does that mean the story isn’t enjoyable? No.

Some people might consider Stewart’s books, and others like them, to be fluff. I disagree. I think that at a time when our science fiction and fantasy are dominated by zombies and post-apocalyptic futures, it’s nice to have books that aren’t afraid of sweetness or sentimentality. Stewart writes fantastic characters in ‘normal’ lives, and she does it in a well that makes her books not merely compelling, but downright addictive. Not to mention, the vast majority of the women in her novels are smart, savvy, and own their own businesses. How empowering!

Goes well with hot pastrami on rye with a side of cole slaw and a vanilla cream soda.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a virtual book tour. For more information, click here.