Murder In Season-A Lady of Letters Mystery-Book #3 by Mary Winters

Publication December 3, 2024-Severn House Publishing-Historical Fiction, Mystery-240pp

Book #3

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Murder in Season is book #3 in The Lady of Letters Mystery Series by Mary Winters. This blend of cozy mystery and romance is set in London, 1860. Lady Amelia Amesbury, countess and advice columnist, is still in mourning when her sister Margaret arriving under duress, asks to remain for the Season. As fans of Bridgerton and the ton know, the Season, a time for young people to find a spouse, is from May to August.  Lady Amesbury hosts a ball to introduce Margaret, but the plan backfires when a guest is poisoned. Margaret becomes the main suspect, and Lady Amesbury feels called to prove Margaret’s innocence.  Winters whisks readers from balls and concerts in manor houses in Mayfair across to markets in the East End’s Petticoat Lane, and to the exhibition by the Royal Botanic Society at Regent’s Park.

Margaret, or Madge, is known to be bullheaded, brave, and smart. Winters uses an impromptu performance at a concert to develop the sisters’ character by revealing their competitive spirits and musical talents, adding another intriguing layer to their personalities.  Their adventurous spirit surfaces as the sisters travel in disguise to Petticoat Lane to track a jewel thief! The action, dialogue and sensory descriptions of the market wares and stalls sink the reader into London’s East End.

Each chapter opens with a letter from a devoted reader to Lady Agony. The writer’s situation often hints at the impending conflict in the plot. Amelia’s slow burn romance with Simon, jewelry thefts, and a poisoning death keep readers following rumors and clues to the mystery.  Lady Agony’s readers will discover a surprising, satisfying close to the Lady of Letters Mystery Series. “Yours in Secret.” The Grateful Reader.     

Book #1
Book #2

Mary Winters is the author of the Lady Agony mystery series. A longtime reader of historical fiction and an author of two other mystery series, Mary set her latest work in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Since then, she’s been busily planning her next mystery—and another trip!

My Friend John by Arleen McCarthy

Publication November 8, 2024-Austin Macauley Publishers-Children

An uplifting children’s book about the power of kindness, friendship, and understanding and embracing neurodiversity.

Book Overview

Meet John, a remarkable new student at The Huckleberry School. John’s life takes a heartwarming turn when he befriends a sweet little girl named Bella. Everything seems to be going smoothly for John, until a challenging situation resurfaces, shaking the foundations of his world.

In My Friend John, we are invited to witness a touching journey that explores not only the essence of friendship but also the profound qualities of kindness and leadership. This poignant tale serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience within us all and the transformative power of genuine connection.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

My Friend John shows children how to treat a classmate with special needs at school and guidance for parents at home. Arleen McCarthy’s main character, John, has Tourette Syndrome.  Bella, a kind, compassionate classmate, befriends new student John at lunch on his first day. Students of all levels have been in a similar situation. The emotional anxiety of being accepted or the wonderment of how to respond are evident in Bella’s touching account. Bella’s mom also sets a good example when she offers to research Tourette Syndrome. A win for students and parents, alike!

Bella shows how kindness, the power of a simple touch, and connecting through commonalities leads to understanding. Bella reveals leadership skills in her determination to explain TS to the class; showing that with simple information students respond appropriately. Bella wanted her classmates to understand John and to see him like any other classmate.

This children’s book conjures a special memory for me. One of my son’s high school teachers had twin boys; one had TS and the boys were on the basketball team together. Coaches, parents, and players all came to understand Tourette Syndrome. The teacher/father later related what a tremendous impact my son’s example of understanding and acceptance had on his sons and the team.

My third-grade granddaughter recently read My Friend John aloud for me. She admitted, “I felt sad sometimes but happy at the end!” She also commented on the artist’s full-page illustrations and how the eyes of the characters were so expressive. She was not aware of Tourette Syndrome but is now informed! She is quite a little scientist, and a researcher so was very impressed that the mom suggested reading more about Tourette Syndrome.  

An enlightening read for all ages.

Christmas with the Queen by Heather Webb, Hazel Gaynor

Publication Nov. 19, 2024-William Morrow-Historical Fiction-384pp

Book Summary

’Tis the season! The Crown meets When Harry Met Sally in the latest heartwarming historical novel from Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, bestselling authors of Last Christmas in Paris, Meet Me in Monaco, and Three Words for Goodbye.

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father’s Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change. 

As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, old friends—Jack Devereux and Olive Carter—are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn’t go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously. 

Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition. 

As Jack and Olive’s paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything. 

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen’s first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver… 

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

I have been a royal follower since I lived in Scotland and London in the mid 1970’s. I have watched “The Crown” over and over, and have many favorite novels based on the royal family, “Crawfie”-the nanny, Queen Elizabeth’s “gown,” and the Coronation. Now, I can add Christmas with the Queen to my shelf of royal reads. Last Christmas in Paris, a World War I epistolary novel, was the first novel from writing partners Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. Pour a cup of tea; black, no lemon, like the Queen, and settle in for a royal Christmas treat.

Christmas with the Queen is written in alternate timelines and from three points of view. According to the authors, they wanted to explore how two ordinary people might become entangled with the royal traditions through their own jobs. This was accomplished with the intertwining of Olive Carter, an enthusiastic, endearing BBC reporter, Jack Devereaux, an orderly, predictable chef from New Orleans, and Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas messages from Sandringham. Readers get a keen sense of the euphoria of VE Day as the 1945 timeline alternates with the early years of Elizabeth’s reign in 1952, and the personal postwar struggles of Olive and Jack. The incorporation of Cajun dishes like jambalaya and shrimp and grits onto the royal menu was “lagniappe”-an added treat for this south Louisiana gal!

Chapters laced with fascinating details of estate staff cottages, the Corgis, Susan and Sugar, and references to Margaret’s headlines make the Christmases fly by! Easily imagined from years of magazine coverage and the vivid depictions in The Crown I devoured the insights into the royal couple’s tour to the South Pacific from the BBC perspective and Prince Phillip’s tour to Antarctica through the eyes of a royal chef. Simply delicious!

From the kitchens of Buckingham Palace to the country lanes leading to Sandringham and the Queen’s first televised message, this ‘will they-won’t they’ romance is a delightful Christmas adventure.   

Sandringham
Sandringham at Christmas

The Queen’s 1957 Christmas Broadcast was an historic event, as it was the first to be televised. It was also the 25th anniversary of the first Christmas Broadcast on the radio. The broadcast was made live from the Long Library at Sandringham, Norfolk. https://www.royal.uk/christmas-broadcast-1957

The Forgotten Italian Restaurant by Barbara Josselsohn

Publication August 21, 2024-Bookouture-WWII Historical Romance-Sisters of War Book #3-268pp

Book Summary

Italy, 1943. The girl rushes down the winding streets, tucking the handwritten menu into the wicker basket and thinking only of the code hidden on the delicate paper. Will anyone forgive her for what she’s about to do to save the man she loves? 

Present day. Arriving in sun-drenched Caccipulia, Callie grips the faded restaurant menu in trembling hands. Found hidden in her family home, she is certain it will lead her to the truth about her grandmother’s life in Italy during World War Two. Why did her Nonna run away from this beautiful small town, never to return? Lost and alone in the world, could it help Callie understand who she is?

Local café owner Oliver’s dark brown eyes light up when he sees the menu. During the war, one brave family secretly fed desperate Jewish families hidden in safe houses through the village. Callie’s heart soars at the thought that her own dear grandmother was involved.

Diving into the town’s history during long walks down cobbled streets, Callie begins to feel at home under Oliver’s soft gaze. She wonders if she could build a life here with him. Until they push aside magenta flowers on a monument at the heart of the village, and uncover a secret that changes everything…

A grave mistake was made one dark night as the Nazis stalked the village, putting the whole town in terrible danger. When Callie finds out what her grandmother did, will it change the way Oliver feels about her? Will she stay and right the wrongs of the past, or be forced to leave Italy too, just like her Nonna?

A heartbreaking love story that will sweep you away to sun-drenched Italian vineyards to watch hope and bravery prevail in the darkest days of war. For fans of Kristin Hannah, Victoria Hislop and Fiona Valpy.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab First Reviewed for Historical Novel Magazine November 2024 for Historical Novel Society

Barbara Josselsohn’s Sisters of War series features Emilia as the plucky heroine in book #3, The Forgotten Italian Restaurant. As the Nazi threat intensifies, fifteen-year-old Emilia returns from a castle on the Mediterranean Isle of Parissi to her hometown of Caccipulia, Italy.

            Mysteries and secrets throughout the series lead to a stunning revelation in this conclusion told in dual timeline. The timelines intersect through Callie in present day Connecticut and Emilia in 1943, Italy. Callie is traveling to the village of Caccipulia in response to newly discovered clues to her grandmother’s connection to Italy. The relationship between Callie and her older sister Pam emerges in Callie’s memories and self-talk presenting themes of sibling rivalry, guilt, and discovering home. Emilia’s timeline highlights the Nazi invasion and the family’s involvement in the Resistance. This history focuses on themes of betrayal, strength of the human spirit, and resilience. Well-developed, endearing characters Signora Jorelini, restaurant owner, and daughter, Corinna, become Emilia’s protectors, teaching her the meaning of loyalty and love. The fate of the castle and Emilia’s older sisters, Annalisa, and Giulia, becomes apparent through emotional, suspenseful, mother-daughter conversations, also enlightening Emelia to the frightening treatment of Jews during the time she was away on the island.

Josselsohn’s impeccable research and descriptions create a physical sense of the stunning architecture in the rebuilt village of Caccipulia, the aromas and tastes of luscious meals prepared by Signor Jorelini for Jewish families in hiding, and a vision of the rolling Italian countryside. An Italian feast for the senses.

A restaurant menu card with a hidden code, a train schedule, and two passports are the ingredients in this World War II mystery. The Forgotten Italian Restaurant, a portrayal of loss, dangerous relationships, and intrigue, with love for family victorious. Gratifying series finale.

The Path Beneath Her Feet by Janis R. Daly

Publication September 5, 2024-Black Rose Writing-Historical Fiction-Medical Fiction-372pp

Book Summary

THE PATH BENEATH HER FEET continues the story of Dr. Eliza Edwards’ commitment to limit suffering and save lives amid the tumultuous landscapes of 1930s and 1940s America.

In 1936, as the Depression ravages careers, Eliza re-defines her abilities. When a position calls her to Warm Springs, Georgia, to tend to a polio patient, Eliza faces the harsh realities of a society plagued by prejudice. Mirroring the pack-horse librarians’ mission to bring books to the illiterate communities of Appalachia, the American Women’s Hospitals delivers essential medical care. Eliza joins the AWH, reclaiming her purpose and rediscovering her ambitions against the backdrop of the Tennessee mountains. As family responsibilities call her home to Boston, the heartbreak of losing those dearest to her amplifies with the eruption of World War II, bringing chaos to the world and sending her sons into battle.

In this emotionally charged sequel to THE UNLOCKED PATH, Dr. Eliza Edwards marks her journey through sacrifice, love, and an unyielding pursuit of justice in an era marked by adversity. The ingénue student becomes the mature mentor, steadfast in her calling to effect social change by addressing women’s health issues and guiding others to realize their dreams.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab First Published in Historical Novel Review Magazine- November 2024 Issue for Historical Novel Society

Dr. Eliza Edwards continues to “care for the defenseless and the powerless” in The Path Beneath Her Feet, the sequel to The Unlocked Path. After the closing of her practice during the Depression, Eliza dutifully follows “the path beneath her feet” to a treatment center for polio victims in Warm Springs, Georgia, and the need for medical care in the hills of Appalachia.

Eliza faces decisions regarding her family, career, and duty to her country. The worries and complexities of women as mothers and doctors of the 1930’s and 1940’s are authentically portrayed as Eliza takes on the challenge of becoming a therapist for a pregnant Black polio patient. Robinson deftly reveals prejudice at the treatment center in Warm Springs, Georgia, through actions and dialogue typical of the times. Eliza’s determination and belief in her convictions are conveyed through Robinson’s handling of these tenuous social and personal situations. Eliza’s career path leads her to Tennessee where discerning character development and dialogue demonstrate tenacity and wisdom through Eliza’s quiet advice to gain desperately needed trust from the community. Robinson highlights the amazing work of women doctors of the American Women’s Hospitals and the building of maternity shelters in Appalachia, with an impact much like the pack horse librarians. Eliza decides whether to place responsibilities over personal satisfaction reflecting the theme of family priorities. The plot is filled with suspense and Eliza’s maternal anxiety as war looms and her sons are in harm’s way.

Follow Eliza’s path through the 1940’s: Roosevelt in the Oval Office, the First Lady and Glen Miller on the radio, LIFE magazine on the coffee table, and Jimmy Stewart on the big screen. The Path Beneath Her Feet, packed with emotion and history, brings the challenges and adversities of women in medicine clearly into focus.

Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/science-medicine/roosevelt-warm-springs-institute-for-rehabilitation/

American Women’s Hospitals Appalachia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-PugIBa6gw

An American Women’s Hospital doctor (in hat and “AWH” armband) administers a shot to a local woman in Jellico, Tennessee. The AWH had a mobile health clinic that included vaccinations and inoculations as part of their service to the rural Appalachian region of the United States. The AWH car is visible in the background behind a young woman.)

Love is for the Birds by Diane Owens Prettyman

Publication October 8, 2024-She Writes Press-Women’s Fiction-304pp

Book Summary

The Texas Gulf: beautiful yet unpredictable.

A beach town destroyed. Her mother’s candy store swept away. This is what Teddy Wainsworth faces when she returns to Bird Isle. Meanwhile, Jack Shaughness, owner of a popular barbecue restaurant chain and widower still grieving the death of his wife, receives permission to cross over to the island with a smoker full of brisket to feed hurricane survivors. Soon after arriving, he meets Teddy and immediately finds himself drawn to her—which makes him feel he is betraying his wife. When the two find a lost dog, Jack convinces Teddy to take it home while they attempt to find the owner, creating a bond that brings them closer.

In the wake of the hurricane, Bird Isle residents fear the Aransas Wildlife Refuge will not be ready for the whooping cranes’ annual migration south. Seeing that Jack has important connections and a love for the island, they enlist him to help restore the habitat of the endangered cranes before they fly to Padre Island for the winter. With their rescued dog always nearby, Teddy and Jack work side by side to rebuild Bird Isle for the return of the whooping cranes. But Jack is harboring a secret that may ruin everything he and Teddy are creating—and he won’t be able to keep that secret forever.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

I’ve personally experienced many hurricanes and evacuations growing up in south Louisiana. With these experiences and as an annual visitor to the Gulf Coast of Texas, I assure readers that Diane Prettyman’s Love is for the Birds accurately captures the visual devastation and emotional trauma of the residents of Bird Isle. The novel is based on the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, 2017, known as the “hurricane of the century” on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Prettyman’s main characters are grieving losses that we have all endured in one way or another: loss of a wife, mother, partner, relationship of a child, and through the hurricane, massive loss of property.  Teddy, who’s lost her mother and her business, wisely realizes that for all the residents loneliness is the common denominator. In the backdrop of Prettyman’s novel are the recovery efforts on Bird Isle and the residents’ devotion to restoring the Aransas Wildlife Refuge for the annual arrival of the Whooping Cranes. This novel of second chances and life changing epiphanies, like a hurricane aftermath, packs another punch with vivid sensory descriptions of the marsh and the delicate balance of nature to support the threatened Whooping Cranes, Brown Pelicans, and Gulf Coast ecosystems. Another outcome of hurricanes is the vast number of misplaced pets and the plight of rescue shelters. Prettyman focuses readers’ attention on this fact when a “mud covered mutt” wrangles her way into the recovery efforts. The loyalty of a lost dog, two people clawing their way out of grief, and the restoration of a community built on faith and hope; factors in the forecast for the return of clear skies and sunshine along the Texas shore. Eco-fiction with a storm surge of romance!

Whooping Cranes and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/aransas/species

Diane Owens Prettyman is the author of the romantic adventure story Thin Places and the twentieth-century historical novel Redesigning Emma. She is also a frequent contributor to the Austin American-Statesman. She stays true to her belief that every story has a happy ending, though perhaps sometimes, maybe even often, one has to wait for the perfect finale. Diane lives just a few hours’ drive from the Texas Gulf. She is an avid boogie boarder and spends her summers in the water. Her husband and two black standard poodles provide her room and board in Austin, Texas.

Echoes of Us by Joy Jordan-Lake

Publication Oct. 8, 2024-Lake Union Publishing-Historical Fiction-461pp

Book Summary

In the midst of World War II, a Tennessee farm boy, a Jewish Cambridge student, and a German POW forge a connection that endures—against all odds. But now everything that Will Dobbins, Dov Silverberg, and Hans Hessler fought for is at risk as their descendants clash for control of the corporation they founded together. In an attempt to remake its tattered corporate image, the firm hires event planner Hadley Jacks and her sister Kitzie to organize a reunion for the families on St. Simons Island, Georgia, the place that changed all three men’s lives forever. As Hadley and her sister delve into the friends’ past, they uncover the life of the courageous young woman who links them all together…and the old wounds that could tear everything apart. Told in dual timelines spanning World War II and the present, Echoes of Us follows the ripple effects of war, the bonds that outlast it, and the hope that ultimately carries us forward.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A photo of three soldiers and a beautiful young girl– torn apart, TRAITOR scratched across the back. Who is the TRAITOR in the ripped-up photo? In the present-day timeline, many questions need to be answered as Hadley and sister, Kitzie, take over organizing a reunion for descendants of the four young people in the photo. With the backdrop of Georgia’s Golden Isles and World War II, the author immerses readers in American history seldom included in textbooks. History involving catastrophic U-boat attacks off the Eastern and Southern coasts, the WASP-Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, POWs in the U.S., and the 761st Tank Battalion.  This novel is a treasure trove of facts and background supporting the men and women who defended America and the Georgia coast and eventually became pilots in WWII. The four main characters “echo” family devotion, friendship, and romantic connections throughout the war timeline.  The author’s pacing of the war timeline pairs perfectly with the urgency of the characters’ life changing decisions. In the present day timeline, surprising revelations leave readers either sympathetic or heartbroken as Hadley and Kitzie slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together at the reunion. Justification for war is a theme examined through the bonds of twins, Joannie and Sam, while betrayal is explored in pacts between Hadley and Kitzie, and in Joannie’s romantic relationships.  St. Simons’ King and Prince resort is the dramatic setting for the reunion as generational interlocking pieces fall into place. A heartfelt ending filled with boundless love and kindness.  

Christ Church Frederica -St. Simons Island
Lighthouse & Museum
King and Prince Resort-Reunion Location
https://www.coastalgeorgiahistory.org/visit/world-war-ii-museum/

https://www.joyjordanlake.com/about

Christmas in Chestnut Ridge by Nancy Naigle

Publication Oct. 8, 2024-St. Martin’s Griffin-General Fiction, Romance-352pp.

Book Summary

In the enchanting mountain town of Chestnut Ridge, where tree farms blanket the hillsides and the promise of a white Christmas is ever-present, a heartwarming holiday romance is about to blossom. When Sheila’s best friend convinces her to help decorate a tree in the annual Christmas Tree Stroll fundraiser, she embarks on an unexpected journey of self-discovery, all wrapped in the cozy embrace of a tight-knit community. As she immerses herself in the joy of twinkling lights, hot cocoa, and the camaraderie of the townsfolk, Sheila’s world begins to transform, and she finds the sense of belonging she never knew she needed.

Meanwhile, Tucker, the town’s reliable fire captain, is gathering volunteers to help a family with four young children who have just lost their home to a devastating fire weeks before Christmas. Sheila offers her helping hand, and as the town rallies to support the family in their time of need, sparks of love begin to flicker between her and Tucker.

In this charming town where dreams come true, and Christmas magic is everywhere, come along for a tale of love, community, and the true spirit of the season.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains is the setting for this heartwarming tale of second chances, discovering new purpose, and experiencing how a community pulls together. Shiela’s realizations about life in a rural area in contrast to city life add complexity to her preconceived notions about her best friend moving away. It’s never easy being the one left behind, but Nancy Naigle’s thoughtful dialogue and Shiela’s analysis of her own selfish feelings, along with being drawn into experiencing how Chestnut Ridge rallies around a needy family, give her a lot to think about. The excitement and busyness of a tree decorating festival and a blossoming friendship with confident but humble Fire Chief Tucker, are the ingredients in this perfect recipe for holiday reading. Mix chasing career goals with life’s puzzle pieces and fold in the Christmas spirit; add a side of hot chocolate and you have the perfect “good-night wink.”

USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle whips up small-town love stories with a whole lot of heart. She began writing while juggling a successful career in finance and life on a seventy-six-acre farm. Now happily retired from a career in the financial industry, this Virginia girl devotes her time to writing, antiquing, and spa days with friends.

Several of Nancy’s novels have been adapted for television. You can find the complete list of movies and a free downloadable checklist of all of Nancy’s books in series order on her website.

The Fabled Earth by Kimberly Brock

Publication October 1, 2024-Harper Muse-Historical Fiction-384pp

Book Summary

Inspired by the little-known history of Cumberland Island, The Fabled Earth is a sweeping story of family lore and the power of finding your own voice as Southern mythology and personal reckoning collide with a changing world.

1932. Cumberland Island off the coast of Southern Georgia is a strange place to encounter the opulence of the Gilded Age, but the last vestiges of the famed philanthropic Carnegie family still take up brief seasonal residence in their grand mansions there. This year’s party at Plum Orchard is a lively group: young men from some of America’s finest families come to experience the area’s hunting beside a local guide; a beautiful debutante expecting to be engaged by the week’s end, and a promising female artist who believes she has meaningful ties to her wealthy hosts. But when temptations arise and passions flare, an evening of revelry and storytelling goes horribly awry. Lives are both lost and ruined.

1959. Reclusive painter Cleo Woodbine has lived alone for decades on Kingdom Come, a tiny strip of land once occupied by the servants for the great houses on nearby Cumberland. When she is visited by the man who saved her life nearly thirty years earlier, a tempest is unleashed as the stories of the past gather and begin to regain their strength. Frances Flood is a folklorist come to Cumberland Island seeking the source of a legend – and also information about her mother, who was among the guests at a long-ago hunting party. Audrey Howell, briefly a newlywed and now newly widowed, is running a local inn. When she develops an eerie double exposure photograph, some believe she’s raised a ghost–someone who hasn’t been seen since that fateful night in 1932.

As a once-in-a-century storm threatens the natural landscape and shifting tides reveal what Cumberland Island has hidden all along, two timelines and perspectives of three women intersect to illuminate the life-changing power of finding truth in a folktale.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

An impending storm, salty breezes, and a ramshackle cottage in the briny marsh of Cumberland Island is the backdrop for a family saga laced with folklore. Cumberland Island, off the coast of Georgia, is Kimberly Brock’s setting for this mysteriously tragic tale of an annual bonfire party gone awry. The novel unfolds from the perspective of three main characters. Cleo Woodbine’s account of the fateful night, aptly named Fable, set in 1932, alternates with her current life story told in the 1959 timeline. Readers are transported to the southern coastline in 1959 through two other main characters; Frances, connected by her mother to the bonfire tragedy and Audrey, a young, widowed photographer searching for purpose.

Brock’s pacing of the plot and smooth transitions through the two timelines adds palpable urgency. The Fable timeline, with cringeworthy details of Cleo’s experiences with the entitled young people, increases the suspense. Through Cleo’s moment by moment account Brock accurately captures the fears and emotions leading to turning points in the rowdy, roller coaster of events during the weekend of revelry near the river. The German folktale known as Lorelei is woven into the anxiousness and the tragic outcome surrounding the storytelling competition at the bonfire. Like the tale of Lorelei, the Fable timeline plunges readers into the murky waters to follow the siren, only to surface, gasping for air, as Cleo gets closer and closer to the truth.   

Kimberly Brock’s search for truth in family stories wrapped in a sailor’s folktale makes The Fabled Earth a suspenseful mystery with a breathtaking view of new-found life on the rocky shore.

The Siren Song of the Lorelei

Not far from St. Goarshausen, a grey cliff towers 433 feet above the River Rhine. Atop the cliff sits a woman—or is it a trick of the light?—combing her long hair and singing. Read more about the legend here: https://www.deutschland.de/en/the-siren-song-of-the-lorelei

Links to read more about Cumberland Island Mansions- Plum Orchard and Dungeness from The Fabled Earth:

Plum Orchard: https://www.nps.gov/places/plum-orchard.htm

Cumberland Island : https://www.nps.gov/articles/975727.htm?utm_source=article&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=experience_more&utm_content=small#4/31.80/-78.13

Kimberly Brock is the bestselling author of The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Townsend Prize for Fiction, and The River Witch, recipient of the Georgia Author of the Year Award. She is the founder of Tinderbox Writers Workshop and has served as a guest lecturer for many regional and national writing workshops including at the Pat Conroy Literary Center. A native of North Georgia, she now lives near Atlanta. Her latest novel, The Fabled Earth, releases October 1, 2024 via Harper Muse. Photo cred: Claire Brock Photography

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park by Julia Kelly

Publication October 1, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-Mystery-320pp.

Book Summary

With mystery, intrigue, and the hints of romance international bestselling author Julia Kelly is known for, Evelyne Redfern returns in Betrayal at Blackthorn Park.

Freshly graduated from a rigorous training program in all things spy craft, former typist Evelyne Redfern is eager for her first assignment as a field agent helping Britain win the war. However, when she learns her first task is performing a simple security test at Blackthorn Park, a requisitioned manor house in the sleepy Sussex countryside, she can’t help her initial disappointment. Making matters worse, her handler is to be David Poole, a fellow agent who manages to be both strait-laced and dashing in annoyingly equal measure. However, Evelyne soon realizes that Blackthorn Park is more than meets the eye, and an upcoming visit from Winston Churchill means that security at the secret weapons research and development facility is of the utmost importance.

When Evelyne discovers Blackthorn Park’s chief engineer dead in his office, her simple assignment becomes more complicated. Evelyne must use all of her—and David’s—detection skills to root out who is responsible and uncover layers of deception that could change the course of the war.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park, the second in a series, features avid reader of detective mysteries, Evelyn Redfern. (Her reading list is linked below in the author bio!) Plucked from the typing pool, Evelyn is a newly trained spy for the Special Investigations Unit in London 1940. Her first mission is a security check at a country manor in Sussex, known as Blackthorn Park. Now a weapons research facility with a staff of engineers, administrators, and workers, it is the perfect setting for a mystery.

The focus of Evelyn’s mission changes from a security check for missing supplies to a murder investigation. Author Julia Kelly’s lifelong love for mysteries and detective stories lends credence to interviews of suspects, tricks of the detective trade, and summaries of clues before heading the search off in another direction.

Julia Kelly’s characters move with ease from Whitehall to Blackthorn Park. To Evelyn’s dismay her partner at Whitehall, David Poole, has been promoted to ‘handler’ in the SIU and follows her to Blackthorn. Kelly’s development of Evelyn’s view of David Poole evolves from mostly annoying to sometimes endearing, giving readers hope for a closer connection in the future. She uses clever pairings such as Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, stationmaster at Benstead and housekeeper at the manor, to make connections and confirm clues. To relax the frantic pace and drama of the mission Kelly isolates the interviews of suspects into chapters and switches to Evelyn’s London life with occasional telephone calls to best friend Moira.  

Betrayal at Blackthorn takes place in one hectic week, with a day-by-day countdown to Winston Churchill’s visit for a weapons demonstration. Interviews, journal checks, letters and a secret hiding place keep readers piecing clues together until the last explosion at Blackthorn Park.

Julia Kelly is the international bestselling author of emotional historical fiction about extraordinary women and thrilling historical whodunnit mystery novels. Her books have been translated into 13 languages. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home before settling in London with her husband. EVELYN REDFERNS READING LIST FROM BOOK #1 1AND #2 https://www.juliakellywrites.com/evelyne-redferns-reading-list