Her Final Prayer (Detective Clara Jefferies Book 2) by Kathryn Casey **Book Review** @bookouture

Happy hump day all!

Hope life is treating you well! It is times like these I am most grateful for books!

My Thoughts

A tense and clever police procedural. This is the second book in the detective Clara Jeffries series. In the previous book Clara is summoned to her isolated Utah hometown to help investigate the disappearance of one of her sisters. In this book Clara has decided to stay in the fictional town of Alber where she is now the acting police chief. When there is a gruesome murder of a family on the outskirts of town Clara is on the case. But it’s even more complicated than solving a murder. The town is not excited to have Clara back, they have shunned her for leaving years ago.

This isolated backwards polygamist small town offers the perfect backdrop to this police procedural. The religious beliefs of this fringe polygamist sect creates an abundance of tension. Clara’s familiarity with the community is both helpful and harmful in the search for answers. Clara is a great character and I really like learning more about her backstory. But boy oh boy does the girl have so much more baggage to unpack. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Max and Clara. Max is such a good guy and I really hope that Clara and he can help one another heal their wounds. The mystery was perfectly paste and compelling. I truly had no idea who done it until the culprit was revealed. Another great installment in this chrime series.

*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

About the Book

Her pulse pounded in her ears as she scanned the house. Her eyes traveled over the porch where three empty chairs lazily rocked in the breeze, surrounded by scattered children’s toys. In the yard, there were mounds of earth. Graves. Only big enough for children…

When Detective Clara Jefferies is called to a family ranch just outside of Alber, Utah, she’s horrified to find two innocent young children murdered alongside their mothers. But she arrives at the scene quickly enough to rush their father, Jacob Johansson, to hospital where he begins fighting for his life, and to save his two-month-old son Jeremy, left untouched in his crib.

As Clara begins to investigate, nothing she finds out makes sense. Though she uncovers photos of one of Jacob’s wives in his best friend’s trailer, her flower necklace underneath his bed, there are rumors that she was in love with a different man altogether. And as the close-knit community comes together to support Jacob, Clara’s own family shut her out of the investigation…

But Clara won’t give up. With the killer still at large, baby Jeremy is at risk, and every moment her family are helping Jacob they are also in danger. To earn her family’s trust, Clara finally has to face the past, but can she do it before it’s too late?

Impossible to put down, Her Final Prayer is perfect for readers of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot. You’ll race through the pages until the final heart-pounding twist.

About the Author

A novelist and award-winning journalist, Kathryn Casey is the author of eleven highly acclaimed true crime books and the creator of the Sarah Armstrong mystery series. Library Journal picked THE KILLING STORM as one of the best mysteries of 2010. Her latest true crime, IN PLAIN SIGHT, investigates the Kaufman County prosecutor murders, a case that made worldwide headlines. Casey has appeared on Oprah, 20/20, the Today Show, Good Morning America, the Biography Channel, Reelz, The Travel Network, Investigation Discovery, and many other venues. Ann Rule called Casey “one of the best in the true crime genre.”  
Twitter: @KathrynCasey

Log Fires and Toffee Apple Cake by Rosie Green **Book Review** @rararesources

Happy hump day all!

Another delightful entry in this delectable series! I was super excited to see Madison finally get her story!🤎

Log Fires & Toffee Apple Cake at the Little Duck Pond Café

Get set for a wonderful celebration of autumn with all your favourite characters at the Little Duck Pond Cafe!
An autumn fair is coming to Sunnybrook, much to the delight of the villagers. But for Madison, whose personal life seems to be spinning out of control, a roller-coaster is the last thing she needs – especially when it’s her emotions at stake.
Can she convince the delectable Jack that their relationship is worth another shot? Or has their romance ground to a permanent halt like a faulty big wheel? Will she solve the mystery of the missing name on her birth certificate? Or will her discoveries take her on a journey even bumpier than the dodgem cars? One thing’s for sure. Madison is going to need more than a fairground fortune teller to find the answers to her questions, if she’s going to ‘waltz-er’ into the happiest of sunsets…

My Thoughts

Delightful and delectable. Charming and sweet. This is the 12th book in Rosie greens lovely Little Duck Pond Café series and this time we get Madison‘s Story. When we first met Madison she was such a self-centered bossy so-and-so. But I knew there was more to her then she was letting on. As the series progressed I really grew to like Madison and was really wanting her to find her own HEA. I thought she had completely blown it a few books back, but in this story we see if Jack will give her a second chance. We also get to meet Madison‘s family in this book and get some of her backstory. The cherry on top of this apple toffee cake is we also get to catch up with all the other Little Duck Pond girls as well. One of the highlights of this book was humorous bog snorkling. Imagine snorkeling in muddy water while wearing a costume being chased by the Incredible Hulk. Another fun edition to this fabulous series.

This book in emojis 🍰 🤿 🧜🏻‍♀️ 🎡

*** Big thank you to the author for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/38v98Fz

Author Bio –

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little.

Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’.

Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

Her series of novellas is centred around life in a village cafe. The latest, ‘Lucy’s Great Escape’, is out now.

Rosie will be revisiting the Little Duck Pond Café with a beautiful story of love and friendship at Christmas time, entitled A Kiss in the Snow, out in October 2020.

Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988