Death at The Dakota by MK Graff @GraffMarni @damppebbles #bookreview #deathatthedakota

Happy happy!

I have another review for you all for another great book! Thanks Emma for my invitation to the tour!🎬

Book Blurb:

Nurse Trudy Genova is making plans to take her relationship to NYPD detective Ned O’Malley to the next level, when she lands a gig as medical consultant on a film shoot at the famed Dakota apartment building in Manhattan, which John Lennon once called home. Then star Monica Kiley goes missing, a cast member turns up dead, and it appears Trudy might be next. Meanwhile Ned tackles a mysterious murder case in which the victim is burned beyond recognition. When his investigations lead him back to the Dakota, Trudy finds herself wondering: how can she fall in love if she can’t even survive?

Readers of Death Unscripted, the first book in the Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery series, will find the same pleasures in this sequel: fast pacing, engaging characters, twists and turns on the way to a satisfying close. From the award-winning author of The Nora Tierney English Mysteries, this second series is a winner. Once again M.K. Graff reveals her talents in crafting this delightful mix of amateur sleuth and police procedural.

My Thoughts

This is the second book in the Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery series, but it can absolutely be read as a standalone. This was a cozy mystery with a bit of an edgy vibe. Trudy is a nurse who works on movie sets as a medical advisor. What an interesting job. MK Graff formerly worked as a medical advisor on a soap opera that filmed in NY and I thought that added a lot of authenticity to this book. Trudy was also a smart sassy character who I took to right away. A great deal of this book takes place at the Dakota apartments where John Lennon once lived. I googled this location and there is so much fascinating history even a suggestion of a ghost, I’d recommend googling it, quite fascinating.

In this book somebody is murdered on the movie set that Trudy is working on. Then Trudy‘s boyfriend Ned a NYC police officer is involved in a murder that loops back to the Dakota. Now Trudy’s life is in danger, what is going on? And will the Mystery be solved in time? I enjoyed playing amateur sleuth right alongside Trudy. I loved the setting of the movie set, so many potential suspects. I also felt as though this book had the perfect amount of Trudy’s personal life infused into it including some romance. Simply put this was a perfectly paced well plotted Mystery that kept me engaged throughout.

About M.K. Graff:

Marni Graff writes The Nora Tierney English Mysteries, featuring an American writer living in England with a nose for murder, and The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries, based on Graff’s real work as a medical consultant for a movie studio. She is Managing Editor of Bridle Path Press, a member of Sisters in Crime, the NC Writers Network, and The International Association of Crime Writers, and writes crime book reviews at Auntie M Writes, http://www.auntiemwrites.com.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GraffMarni @GraffMarni

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluevirginmysteries/

Website: https://auntiemwrites.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluevirgin.graff/

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Dakota-Manhattan-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1732163049/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=death+at+the+dakota&qid=1556186378&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Dakota-Manhattan-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1732163049/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=death+at+the+dakota+m.k.+graff&qid=1556186480&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

BookDepository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Death-at-the-Dakota-M-K-Graff/9781732163041

GoogleBooks: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iKPXwQEACAAJ&dq=death+at+the+dakota+M.K.+Graff&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitvJmV_-rhAhXLUBUIHTlyD10Q6AEIKjAA

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback by Bridle Path Press on 1st April 2019.

The Shadow Writer by Eliza Maxwell @tlcbooktours @luauthors @amazonpub #bookreview #theshadowwriter

Happy Thursday book lovers!

Excited to share with you today my review for this dark story about obsession. Thank you so much Lisa for my invitation to this tour.🖤

My Thoughts

Obsession. Manipulation. Lies.

This book was in a word UNPREDICTABLE! A crazy ride! A plot full of twists and turns and characters with agendas you are never privy to. Eliza Maxwell has crafted a dark disturbing tale about obsession and manipulation. Unreliable, unlikable, self serving narrators who left a bad taste in my mouth. I am still baffled as to how we got from that first chapter to the last, but it sure was entertaining getting there.

Here is a quote from the book I think all my book reviewing/blogging/Bookstagramming friends Will appreciate…

“A person writes a book out of ego, reads a book out of hope, and recommends a book out of love.”

This book really is about the confounding, needy, obsessive relationship between Laura and Gray. Laura is an influential book blogger who is married to a successful author. Graye is a grad student with aspirations of being an author and a dark past. Neither of these characters were tremendously likable and I had a hard time connecting with them. I felt as though neither of them really let the reader see inside,. As a rule I am a fan of unlikable characters, but I need them to be completely fleshed out. I felt as though Laura and Graye were always keeping me at arms length, this might have been by design but it kept me disconnected. In spite of this I could not put this book down, I needed to know where it was going. This was one of those books that kept zigging and zagging, swirving all over the place, I never knew what was coming next. Enthralling, unsettling, and ultimately satisfying!

7/10

*** many thanks to Lake Union for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

Every writer has a story. Some are deadlier than others.

Aspiring author Graye Templeton will do anything to escape the horrific childhood crime that haunts her. After a life lived in shadows, she’s accepted a new job as protégé to Laura West, influential book blogger and wife of an acclaimed novelist. Laura’s connections could make Graye’s publishing dreams a reality. But there’s more to Laura than meets the eye.

Behind the veneer of a charmed life, Laura’s marriage is collapsing. Her once-lauded husband is descending into alcoholism and ruin and bringing Laura nearer to the edge.

As the two women form a bond that seems meant to be, long-buried secrets claw their way into the present, and the line between friendship and obsession begins to blur, forcing each to decide where her loyalties lie. Running from the past is a dangerous game, and the loser could end up dead.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Connect with Eliza

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Have A lovely day!💜

Berit☀️✨

The Testament of Harold’s Wife by Lynne Hugo @lynnehugo @kensingtonbooks @suzyapbooktours #bookreview #thetestamentofharoldswife

Happy Thursday everybody!

Super excited to share with you today in my review for this absolutely delightful story! Thank you so much Suzy for my invitation to this tour.🐔

My Thoughts

A Beautiful story about grief and hope, revenge and forgiveness.

This was an engaging story about a remarkable woman. Lynne Hugo has crafted a story that is both heart felt and humorous. After reading the blurb I thought this book would be a bit dark, but it was anything but. Miss Hugo did a great job of taking some serious subject matter and infusing it with humor and hope. There was such a sense of authenticity to the story and I could tell it was written with a loving hand. Lynne Hugo breathed life into these lovable quirky characters with her words and love.

Louisa is grieving not only did she lose her husband Harold to suicide, but she also lost her grandson to a drunk driver. Luisa has every right to wallow in her grief. BUT that’s not how Luisa rolls, she picks herself up and lives her best life. She does this for Harold, she does this for Cody, but most important of all she does this for herself. What follows is a lovely story about Louises quest for life and search for justice.

Louisa was such a sassy snarky character with a zest for life. Her strength and courage were admirable, and I enjoyed every single minute I spent with her. I loved her relationship with her animals especially the chickens. Seriously she had tea parties with these chickens and I didn’t even bat an eyelash, in fact I wanted to join them. I also enjoyed her relationship with her son who simultaneously completely captivated her heart and drove her nuts. Simply put this is a delightful story that will tug at your heart strings and make you smile.

*** thank you Kensington for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

After losing her husband, Harold, and her beloved grandson, Cody, within the past year, Louisa has two choices. She can fade away on her Indiana family farm, where her companionship comes courtesy of her aging chickens and an argumentative cat. Or, she can concoct A Plan. Louisa, a retired schoolteacher who’s as smart, sassy, and irreverent as ever, isn’t the fading away type.

The drunk driver who killed Cody got off scot-free by lying about a deer on the road. Harold had tried to take matters into his own hands but was thwarted by Gus, the local sheriff. Now Louisa decides to take up Harold’s cause, though it will mean outsmarting Gus, who’s developed an unwelcome crush on her, and staying ahead of her adult son who’s found solace in a money-draining cult and terrible art.

Louisa’s love of life is rekindled as the spring sun warms her cornfields and she goes into action. But even the most Perfect Plans can go awry. A wounded buck, and a teenage boy on the land she treasures help Louisa see that the enduring beauty of the natural world and the mystery of human connection are larger than revenge. . and so is justice.

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Berit☀️✨

Dear Jane by Allie Cresswell @alliescribbler @rararesources #bookreview #dearjane

Happy Thursday all! How is it Thursday already?

Excited about my review for this lovely story! Thanks so much Rachel for my invitation to this tour!🗝

Dear Jane

The final instalment of the Highbury trilogy, Dear Jane recounts events hinted at but never actually described in Jane Austen’s Emma; the formative childhood years of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill, their meeting in Weymouth and the agony of their secret engagement.
Orphaned Jane seems likely to be brought up in parochial Highbury until adoption by her papa’s old friend Colonel Campbell opens to her all the excitement and opportunities of London. Frank Weston is also transplanted from Highbury, adopted as heir to the wealthy Churchills and taken to their drear and inhospitable Yorkshire estate. Readers of Emma will be familiar with the conclusion of Jane and Frank’s story, but Dear Jane pulls back the veil which Jane Austen drew over its remainder.

My Thoughts

This is the third and final book in this trilogy that is a prequel of sorts to Jane Austen‘s “Emma.” As I mentioned in previous reviews I have never read “Emma,” and if I’m being honest I probably will never read “Emma.” Having said that I have really enjoyed these stories. Allie Cresswell Rights engaging pros with delightful characters. The book seems authentic without being overly written.

The end of this book overlaps with the beginning of Emma and I really appreciated the footnotes that explained how everything was related. This book was about Jane and I found her tremendously likable definitely someone you want to root for. I feel as though I’m being tremendously vague in this review, but I’m just not sure how to put it in words without spoiling things. The story is a perfect blend of old and new and keeps you completely engaged throughout. I do believe I would have enjoyed this book more as a Jane Austen fan, but I am extremely grateful to have read it. A gem of a book that will appeal to all historical fiction and classic lovers.

Purchase Links:

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dear-Jane-Highbury-Trilogy-inspired-ebook/dp/B07PXGL93S

US – https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Jane-Highbury-Trilogy-inspired-ebook/dp/B07PXGL93S

Author Bio –

Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.

She did a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.

She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper, run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.

She has two grown-up children, two granddaughters, two grandsons and two cockapoos but just one husband – Tim. They live in Cumbria, NW England.

Dear Jane is her ninth novel.

Social Media Links – http://www.allie-cresswell.com

https://www.facebook.com/alliescribbler/

@alliescribbler