Books 45-56

 To Tell You the Truth by Gilly MacMillan

Lucy Harper’s talent for writing bestselling novels has given

her fame, fortune and millions of fans. It’s also given her Dan, her needy, jealous husband whose own writing career has gone precisely nowhere.
Now Dan has vanished. But this isn’t the first time that someone has disappeared from Lucy’s life. Three decades ago, her little brother Teddy also went missing and was never found. Lucy, the only witness, helplessly spun fantasy after fantasy about Teddy’s disappearance, to the detectives’ fury and her parents’ despair. That was the start of her ability to tell a story—a talent she has profited from greatly.
But now Lucy’s a grown woman who can’t hide behind fiction any longer. The world is watching, and her whole life is under intense scrutiny. A life full of stories, some more believable than others. Could she have hurt Teddy? Did she kill Dan? Finally, now, Lucy Harper’s going to tell the truth.
Cross her heart.
And hope to die.

The inability to trust plays a huge role in this book. People Lucy thought she could trust, turn on her. Even Eliza seems to be playing games with her. And the neighbours...they all seem to have their own agendas

We don’t know for sure what’s the truth or who is on her ssssside or playing mind games with Lucy until the end. Keeps you reading if only to find out what happened to Dan and Teddy.

Afraid by Lisa Jackson, Alexandra Ivy and Lisa Childs

St. Cecilia’s School for Girls in Salzburg, Austria, is a haven for the daughters of the rich and famous. Here, scandals are buried and secrets hidden. But for three former students, evil is about to resurface . . .
LUCY
Lucy Champagne was sent to St. Cecilia’s after her movie-star mother was brutally attacked by her sleazy boyfriend, Ray Watkins. Lucy’s damning testimony landed Ray a twenty-five-year sentence. But now, Ray is free. And he’s going to find Lucy and make her pay, no matter how far and how fast she runs . . .
RAYNE
Rayne Taylor found unexpected happiness at St. Cecilia’s, until her roommate, Natalie, committed suicide. Only when Rayne finds a box of mementoes from that time does she realize how wrong she may have been about Natalie’s death—and how far someone will go to keep the truth hidden . . .
ERIN
Erin MacDonald remembers little about the long-ago night she and her sister, Anna Beth, were kidnapped. While Erin was found safe, Anna Beth vanished forever. Now Erin has reluctantly come back to the family estate, where Detective Rafe Montego hopes to finally crack the case. But as flashes of Erin’s memory reemerge, she learns how deep the danger goes . . .

This book is actually three short stories woven together.  There is a common thread which weaves each of these stories together  and the the stories complimented each other well  Each of the stories had its own twists and turns and pulled off a reveal at the end which I didn’t see coming.

Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea by Liz Eeles

From the attic of Driftwood House there are stunning views of the deep green sea and sapphire sky. But Rosie can’t tear her eyes away from the faded photograph in her hands, and the words written on the back that will change everything…
Back in the tiny seaside village of Heaven’s Cove after the death of her mother, all Rosie Merchant wants is to hide her tears, rent out her childhood home, and get back to her ‘real’ life, away from the gossiping villagers and wild Devon weather she escaped from years ago.
She’s surprised to find a smiling man in hiking boots – local farmer Liam – waiting on the stone doorstep. His kind offer to help clear crumbling, isolated Driftwood House is hard to refuse, and despite Rosie’s determination not to let anyone get close, soon they’re walking and laughing together along the clifftops. As clouds scud across the endless sky and green waves crash against the shore, Rosie is reminded that nowhere is more beautiful than home.
Then, up in the attic of Driftwood House, Rosie stumbles across a photo which exposes the heart-stopping truth about how her mother came to live at Driftwood House years ago… and Liam only seems concerned about the implications for his own nearby farm. Did he know this painful secret all along, and should she run from Heaven’s Cove for good? Or will facing up to her devastating family history mean Rosie can finally put down roots in this beautiful place?

I enjoyed this book, it was an easy light read. There is some mystery, romance, beautiful scenery and lots of interesting characters in the village.  

The Sash McCandless Series by Melissa F. Miller 

Book 1: Irreparable Harm

Attorney Sasha McCandless has one ambition: Make partner at the best firm in town. Then a plum assignment plunges her into a world of deceit and danger.

When a commercial flight crashes, killing everyone on board, she's tapped to defend the airline. It's her big chance—high-stakes litigation for an important client. But, as she digs into the evidence, people close to the case start to die.

She discovers the crash was intentional, part of a breathtakingly evil plan. Unsure if she can trust her colleagues with the horrifying truth, she teams up with a federal air marshal, and they race to prevent another airline disaster.

Soon, Sasha finds herself with a brand-new life goal: Stop a madman before he kills her.

The author spends spends a great deal of time describing the hierarchy in a large law firm.  Interesting for some, not so much for me. There were a few surprises along the way, although it was quite predictable and far fetched at times.  It was a good story and made me want to read the next book.         

Book 2: Inadvertent Disclosure

It's been six months since an airplane crash altered the course of attorney Sasha McCandless's professional and personal life. She's now focused on building her solo law practice and tending her budding relationship with federal air marshal Leo Connelly, who helped her stop a madman.

When Sasha drives from Pittsburgh to rural Clear Brook County to argue a discovery motion, she finds a town bitterly divided over the issue of hydrofracking the Marcellus Shale. Outsiders from the oil and gas industry and environmental activists threaten to rip apart the community's fabric.

Then the town's only judge is murdered, and Sasha can't just walk away. As she works to find the killer, she must race to save the town before it fractures beyond repair.

I found the book interesting .  It does a great job of covering what shale mining and land deals can do to a community and also covered the pros and cons of fracking for oil.          

    

Book 3: Irretrievably Broken

The venerable law firm of Prescott & Talbott is reeling from the murder of partner Ellen Mortenson -- purportedly at the hands of her estranged husband -- when a photograph of the dead woman arrives, her face Xed out and "ONE DOWN" scrawled across the bottom. Within days, a second partner is murdered, her husband also accused.

Sasha doesn't practice criminal defense, so she's suspicious when her former firm asks her to represent Ellen's husband. Owing Prescott a favor, she takes the case and soon finds herself representing not one, but both, of the so-called Lady Lawyer Killers. The long hours jeopardize her relationship with Leo Connelly when he needs her most.

That's the least of Sasha's troubles, though, because what she doesn't know is that the real killer is waging a vendetta for a past case gone wrong. And there's one more lawyer on his list.

The identity of the killer was fairly obvious early on but even so the suspense still built.  The ending left a couple of things hanging and I don’t know whether this will be addressed in an upcoming book or not. I would definitely readdddd the next book in the series when I come across it.

Deadhead and Buried by 

H.Y. Hanna 

City girl Poppy desperately wants to pay off her debts, quit her dead-end job, find her father… oh, and keep a plant alive. But she knows these are just hopeless dreams—until the day the letter arrives. Suddenly, Poppy is on a train heading deep into the English countryside, to collect a mysterious inheritance. And the last thing she expects to receive is a cottage garden nursery—complete with romantic climbing roses, fragrant herbs, a ginger cat with attitude… and a dead body.
Now she must solve the mystery or risk losing her new home and the chance for a fresh start. But who would want to murder a gardener in a sleepy little village? Could the reclusive inventor have something to do with the killing? What about the brooding crime author next door? And why is her long-lost cousin so desperate for her to sell the cottage?
Poppy might not know her pansies from her petunias but that doesn’t stop her digging for clues. The only problem is, she could be digging her own grave too…

There is an interesting cast of  characters, among which an elderly inventor, a reclusive crime author and an orange tom cat and a terrier. The gardening and plant theme was a very informative touch and well done. The author seems to know a lot about plants with the plant names and information  throughout the book. The mystery was well done, it kept me guessing and surprised me with the murderer, but there are enough clues that looking back it makes sense. 

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon

June 1933. Independent young Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family’s hotel, The Dolphin, on the tranquil English coast. She’s expecting her days at the bustling resort to be filled with comfortable chatter with chambermaids as they polish the mahogany desks and glittering candelabras of the elegant foyer. Everything must be perfect for the arrival of a glamourous jazz singer from Chicago and a masked ball that will be the cultural highlight of the season.
But when several rooms are broken into and searched, including Kitty’s own, she quickly realises that something out of the ordinary is afoot at the hotel. Soon rumours are flying in the cozy town that someone is on the hunt for a stolen ruby. A ruby that Kitty’s mother may well have possessed when she herself went missing during the Great War. And when the break-ins are followed by a series of attacks and murders, including of the town’s former mayoress, it seems the perpetrator will stop at nothing to find it.
Aided by ex-army captain Matthew Bryant, the Dolphin’s new security officer, Kitty is determined to decipher this mystery and preserve not only the reputation of her hotel, but also the lives of her guests. Is there a cold-blooded killer under her own roof? And what connects the missing jewel to the mystery from Kitty’s own past?

An excellent mystery with many twists and turns and an unpredictable ending. This is the beginning of a series and I would read more of the books.

Bitter Roots by C.J.Carmichael

Dispatcher Zak Waller prefers working behind the scenes in the Sheriff’s Office of Lost Trail, Montana, but when a newcomer to the sparely populated town is brutally murdered—and the Sheriff is quick to pin the death on an unknown outsider—Zak starts his own private sleuthing.
On the surface Lost Trail is a picture-perfect western town, offering a simple way of life revolving around the local ranches and ski hill, but Zak knows the truth behind the façade. When his old school friend Tiff Masterson, whose family owns a local Christmas tree farm, moves back to town, the two of them join forces to get to the truth about the murder.

This was an interesting read. It's set in a small, ranching town. There was plenty going on within this small town and many of the characters were suspects. The two main characters were interesting, as well as all the secondary characters. This is the first book in a series which I think would be interesting to read the rest of the books.

The Bones of Amoret by Arthur Herbert

Amoret, Texas, 1982. Life along the border is harsh, but in a world where cultures work together to carve a living from the desert landscape, Blaine Beckett lives a life of isolation. A transplanted Boston intellectual, for twenty years locals have viewed him as a snob, a misanthrope, an outsider. He seems content to stand apart until one night when he vanishes into thin air amid signs of foul play.
Noah Grady, the town doctor, is a charming and popular good ol’ boy. He’s also a keeper of secrets, both the town’s and his own. He watches from afar as the mystery of Blaine’s disappearance unravels and rumors fly. Were the incipient cartels responsible? Was it a local with a grudge? Or did Blaine himself orchestrate his own disappearance? Then the unthinkable happens, and Noah begins to realize he’s considered a suspect.
Paced like a lit fuse and full of dizzying plot twists, The Bones of Amoret is a riveting whodunit that will keep you guessing all the way to its shocking conclusion.

I thought this was a great read. There were definitely some twists and turns that I never saw coming!  

Silent Night by Nell Pattison

What happened while they were sleeping?
A school for the deaf takes an overnight trip to the snowy woods. Five teenagers go to sleep, but only four wake up. Leon is missing, and a teacher’s body is found in the forest…
Sign language interpreter Paige Northwood is brought in to help with interrogations. Everyone at the school has a motive for murder – but they all have an alibi.  
As Paige becomes increasingly involved, she suspects there’s something sinister going on. With the clock ticking to find Leon, only one thing is certain: the killer is among them, and ready to strike again…

I thought this was a great murder mystery and recommend it to anyone who would like to read something different from your regular mysteries. There was a lot of information on how difficult it can be for teens who are deaf in a world where everyone can hear.

New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland

With new arrivals comes new responsibilities...
The sun is shining, wild flowers are blooming and Hedgehog Hollow is officially open for business.
For Samantha, the proud owner of this beautiful rescue centre, life has never been busier. But with an influx of new hogs and hoglets to take care of, not to mention a full-time job and ongoing family issues, can she accept the possibility that she has taken on more than she can handle?
Fortunately, she has the love of her life, Josh, by her side for support and encouragement. But Josh has his own family troubles to deal with. And soon he must decide if he's ready to do the one thing he swore he’d never do - forgive his father.
For both Samantha and Josh it's a season of change and for figuring out whether the past can ever truly be forgotten.

Well, I definitely learnt a lot about hedgehogs!! This is a book about relationships and sacrifices that have to be made in order to succeed.