Review: Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith

Long Walk Home

by Ellyn Oaksmith

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 290

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Lola recognized him straight away. After ten long years of telling herself that maybe she hadn't really loved him—there he was. And straight away she knew she wanted him still.

Lola Alvarez loves working in the restaurant of Blue Hills, her family’s winery, looking out over vine-covered slopes down to the crystal-blue waters of the lake. But she is also determined to make her own mark on the business—to show her older sister Carmen that she’s not the same flighty teen she used to be.

Her plan to build gorgeous vacation cabins in the mountain meadow above the winery will be the perfect addition to Blue Hills, even if she has to go behind Carmen’s back to make her dream a reality. When Carmen sees how popular they are she’ll have to come round—right?

But then Gus Weaver comes back to town. Gus was her first love, the bad boy she used to climb out of windows to see. But he’d broken her heart when he left town suddenly, without so much as a goodbye. After that, she’d never seen him again.

Until now. As fate intervenes and they’re forced to work together on Lola’s project, sparks start to fly between them once again. But he’s led her astray before. Can Lola keep her mind on what she truly wants, when her heart—and the way it beats faster every time she looks into Gus’s blue eyes—is telling her something very different?

Kritters Thoughts:  Lola Alvarez is the baby of the family of three sisters and has always been treated like the baby of the family that can't be responsible for a thing when she really wants to contribute to the family vineyard and be in control of one thing or another.  While maybe a few of her ideas have flopped, she wishes she could be a contributing member of the family and the vineyard.  And Gus Weaver left this small town ten years ago and with it a bad reputation, can he return and repair the relationships that he left and hopefully find his new path in life.  

While reading this book, I realized that this trop in this book is one of the ones I love the most, reunited love that can grow and blossom quickly due to a past that is reconnected.  I love this because it allows for the story to move fast, but it doesn't feel like instalove because the reader knows that there is a past they are building on and it isn't this instant love and hop in bed situation!  

There was some physical lusting, but not too over the top and some great flirtation, but I loved that there was a large focus on Gus and Lola's careers as they were both trying to build that part of their lives while circling around each other!  

Being the oldest in my family, it was fun to read a book from the perspective of the baby in the family because it was so out of my experience.  I didn't know when I started this book that it was the third in a series, so I definitely want to go back and read book one and two and read more about this family.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 48 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Silent Suspect by Nell Pattison

The Silent Suspect

by Nell Pattison

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  On a quiet street, one house is burning to the ground…

By the time sign language interpreter Paige Northwood arrives, flames have engulfed her client’s home. Though Lukas is safe, his wife is still inside. But she was dead before the fire started…

Lukas signs to Paige that he knows who killed his wife. But then he goes silent – even when the police charge him with murder.

Is he guilty, or afraid? Only Paige can help him now…

Kritters Thoughts:  The third in a series that features a sign language interpreter as she always gets involved with mysterious cases where hearing impaired folks are involved.  As I said yesterday in my review, the mystery is self contained in this book, but there is so much character development for Paige from book to book that it is worth going back to book one and starting at the beginning.

So far, my favorite book of this series!  I don't know if it was the mystery or the character growth or both in this one, but I loved it from start to finish.  I really enjoyed reading about Paige's personal life and the things she went through in this book.    

For me the villain came out of left field a bit and the ending felt like it came together a little too quickly for me, but the lead up and the twists and turns made up for a swift ending.  

Without spoiling anything, I will say that I think we aren't done with three books in this series as the way this one ended, I am inclined to think there is more and as this one was my favorite, I sure hope I am right!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 47 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Silent Night by Nell Pattison

Silent Night

by Nell Pattison

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  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…

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in this mystery series with Paige Northwood returning to work with the police department as a principal of a deaf student is found dead on a trip with some of the students and staff and one of those students has gone missing.  While the mystery is contained within these pages, there is character development from book to book with Paige and some of the recurring cast where it is worth it to start at the beginning.  

First, I love how Paige is connected to the police department, so she gets great access, but she isn't a professional detective.  And just like in the first book, the author writes the story so well, so the reader is aware what is being said in sign language and how having deaf characters and sign language make this book so unique and enjoyable.  

This plot went up and down and there were a few moments where I would maybe have made some cuts to make the story move a little faster, but in the end I was satisfied with the villain and loved the journey to the conclusion.  

Tomorrow, I will review the third book in the series.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 46 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: America's Daughter by Celeste De Blasis

America's Daughter

by Celeste De Blasis

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 221

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  With Washington’s army, she joined America’s fight for independence…

The night that Addie Valencourt sneaks out to witness the Boston Tea Party, she knows that her world is about to change forever. Soon, the glittering summers in rural Virginia with her cousins and the plush prosperity of her father’s home in Boston are eclipsed by the fight for American independence.

When the British forces lay siege to Boston, Addie’s family is torn in two. Her brothers and her childhood sweetheart Silas leave to become aides to General Washington alongside Alexander Hamilton, while Addie’s English-born, Loyalist father welcomes the British into his home. Just as Addie takes the painful decision to join the fight, she meets enigmatic Scottish Highlander John Traverne. But he’s on the side of the English king, so Addie will not give in to the spark between them.

As the bitter war continues, Addie’s life becomes increasingly bound with the fate of America. When Silas is captured by the British, Addie risks all to search for him, but venturing into enemy territory brings her face to face with her Highlander again, and she must make an impossible choice between love, or the future of her nation…

Kritters Thoughts:  Addie Valencourt is one half of a set of twins and a part of a large family due to her father on his third wife, due to many tragedies.  Her and her siblings are living in Boston on the cusp of the Revolutionary War and they are on opposing sides from their father and their surrounding neighbors.

it was interesting to see this family being torn apart by this war as in my history lessons it was often conveyed how much the Civil War tore families apart, so it was surprising to me that families ended up on both sides of this war also.  And forgive me for not thinking deeply about the Revolutionary War but it also was interesting to read that some colonials felt as though Britain was basically occupying them and setting taxes and rules to benefit themselves and not the Americas.  When you read historical fiction often, you can feel this sense of occupation when reading a World War II book set in France or England, but to read about the United States and get that occupied feeling was unique and I enjoyed reading that.  

I like to share to readers, especially when it feels a little out of the blue, but this book has a sex scene and it was semi open door and while I understand for the characters why it was included and where, but for me as a reader, it just felt out of place and I didn't feel as though the whole thing was needed to complete the story.  

I am excited that this is book one in a series and I can't wait to follow Addie and her siblings on future adventures.     

If you like this book, a great companion would be a young adult book - Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi.  Both books take great looks at both sides of the revolutionary war and this felt unique and special.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 45 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Night Fall by Nancy Mehl

Night Fall

by Nancy Mehl

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  For any little boy or girl who hears the Train Man speak,

Who feels his rancid breath caress their pretty cheek,
Must close their eyes, pretend to sleep, and very softly pray,
Or else the evil Train Man may carry them away.

Finally free of her troubled upbringing, Alex Donovan is able to live out her childhood dream of working for the FBI. But soon after she becomes a member of the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, authorities in Missouri contact them about bodies found on freight trains--all killed in the same way.

Alex never expected to be forced to confront her past in this new job, but she immediately recognizes the graffiti messages the killer is leaving on the train cars. When the BAU sends her to gather information about the messages from her aunt in Wichita, Kansas, Alex is haunted by the struggles she thought she'd left behind forever.

In a race against time to solve the case and recover a deadly virus sample the killer intends to spread, Alex must face how far she'll go--and what she's willing to risk--to put a stop to the Train Man.

Kritters Thoughts:  Alex Donovan works at the FBI, but not just the FBI in the Behavioral Analysis Unit where they are on the hunt for serial killers with the skills of getting into their minds and trying to figure out their next steps before they strike again.  

The first in a series, Alex Donovan was a great character to follow in this book and while I enjoy an amateur detective, it was fun to follow a detective who knew her stuff.  What I thought was interesting in this book was that they new the villain almost from the beginning, but were trying to figure out who his next victim would be and where.  

There were two things that I didn't completely love about this book, but I could overlook them a bit because I loved the main character and the plot worked despite these two things.  One I found out a few things way too early and while I am an avid mystery/thriller reader, it was just too early and it impacted my pleasure in reading the book.  The other while is in the synopsis, is semi spoilerie, but one of the things that this villain is doing other than killing people, he has a dead virus that he wants to release into the world and while COVID is mentioned in the book and maybe I feel as though it is a little too early to go there, I just didn't think it was necessary and something else could have been used to drive this part of the plot.  

With those two things in mind, I can still say that I enjoyed the reading and will look out for the next Alex Donovan book, but just hope that the villain has some better antics up his/her sleeve!  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Partner in Crime Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Social Graces by Renee Rosen

The Social Graces

by Renee Rosen

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In the glittering world of Manhattan's upper crust, where wives turn a blind eye to husbands' infidelities, and women have few rights and even less independence, society is everything. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor—the Mrs. Astor.

But times are changing.

Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America's richest families. But what good is money when society refuses to acknowledge you? Alva, who knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever it takes to have everything.

Sweeping three decades and based on true events, this is a gripping novel about two fascinating, complicated women going head to head, behaving badly, and discovering what’s truly at stake.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two women were big characters, but not in a time where women could be big characters.  They both were creative in the way they made space for themselves in the world where men took center stage and women had certain expectations set for them.  

Caroline Astor was the woman who set the standard for society.  Women followed in her path just in the hopes that she would acknowledge them.  She was the woman at the top of the pyramid, but didn't want to make room for another one at the top.  Alva Vanderbilt had an interesting childhood for the woman she ended up being.  She was a part of the new establishment that wasn't accepted by the old and she was bound and determined to make it to the very top.  

I absolutely adored this book.  The time and place and the characters were just right.  It is 1876 in New York City and the world is changing and evolving and everyone is trying to "keep up with the jones" or the Astors!  I loved the balls and the city.  But what I loved the most was the history that I learned - the inception of the Metropolitan Opera House and the history behind the Waldorf Astoria hotel.  If you are a fan of New York like I am and would love to know more about how it came to be, this book is just for you.  

I love to read historical fiction.  But I am loving the historical fiction that are far from wars and battles as that is what seems to be the most prevalent recently, so a good historical fiction that is just about a great time and place was what I needed right now.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 44 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Two weeks worth of reading because last Sunday ended up real busy with home projects and life happenings!  This past weekend was a weekend full of reading!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

An Invincible Summer by Mariah Stewart

The Last Night in London by Karen White

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi

The House Swap by Jo Lovett

The Social Graces by Renee Rosen

Night Fall by Nancy Mehl

America's Daughter by Celeste De Blasis

Silent Night by Nell Pattison

Currently Reading:

Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith

Next on the TBR pile:

The Silent Suspect by Nell Pattison

Review: The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

The Venice Sketchbook

by Rhys Bowen

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 412

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Caroline Grant is struggling to accept the end of her marriage when she receives an unexpected bequest. Her beloved great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a final whisper…Venice. Caroline’s quest: to scatter Juliet “Lettie” Browning’s ashes in the city she loved and to unlock the mysteries stored away for more than sixty years.

It’s 1938 when art teacher Juliet Browning arrives in romantic Venice. For her students, it’s a wealth of history, art, and beauty. For Juliet, it’s poignant memories and a chance to reconnect with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves whose future is already determined by his noble family. However star-crossed, nothing can come between them. Until the threat of war closes in on Venice and they’re forced to fight, survive, and protect a secret that will bind them forever.

Key by key, Lettie’s life of impossible love, loss, and courage unfolds. It’s one that Caroline can now make right again as her own journey of self-discovery begins.

Kritters Thoughts:  Caroline Grant is dealing with the end of her marriage and the recent death of her great-aunt and with that death she inherited some interesting items - a sketchbook, some keys and a final request.  She heads to Venice to figure it all out.  In the same book, in a different time period, 1938, Juliet Browning is in Venice and a chance encounter changes her life forever.  

I loved how the reader knows the connection of the stories early on, but there are still things to figure out throughout the book.  The clues are provided at just the right time and they kept the book moving along.  When books have dual timelines, I always tend to like one over the other and with this one I loved them both equally.  I fell in love with all of the characters.  And then there was the character of the city of Venice.  It felt like something of its own that affected the plot and I could just picture it all and maybe even inquired about a trip to Venice - hopefully in the near future!

I love Rhys Bowen.  Great characters and plot and a fun historical story that takes you away from life and reality for just a moment!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The House Swap by Jo Lovett

The House Swap

by Jo Lovett

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 330

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  He needs an escape. She needs an adventure.

So why not swap lives?

When Cassie and James find each other on a home swap website, it feels meant to be. City hotshot James needs a bolthole after a relationship goes sour and Cassie needs to leave the comfort of her little island to research her new book.

Soon, James is living in Cassie’s cute but ramshackle house off the coast of Maine, and Cassie’s living in James’s super smart London penthouse. It’s the perfect solution.

Except it turns out it’s difficult to switch homes without getting involved in each other’s lives. Cassie’s unimpressed when James’s ex turns up, and James is furious when he discovers that he’s going to have to help organise Cassie’s neighbour’s eightieth birthday party.

But as the insults fly, so do the sparks, and when the time finally comes to swap back, Cassie and James find they aren’t ready to give each other up – until a shocking discovery brings the pair crashing back to reality and forces them to decide what life they really want.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two people are in need of a quick change of scenery to possible change some things in their lives, so they list their places on SwapBnB and end up swapping more than zip codes but the change really alters their trajectory.  James has a flat in London and after a relationship that ends abruptly his physical safety is threatened and he needs to get out of town for safety and to see a new perspective.  Cassie has been in a funk for a bit and a job opportunity in London pushes her to try to relocate for a bit to complete the job and maybe a personal goal or two.  

What a sweet romance that has such a fun plot and a great cast of characters as the neighbors and friends of each character play a part in both of their stories.  I adored the arrival stories as they each arrived to the other's places and how different they were in prepping for the other made me - laugh out loud!  

I knew this book was a romance, so I wondered going in how the author was going to achieve the romance of the book, but the interactions were done so cleverly that it just barely avoided the instalove feeling.  I may have felt as though it was a bit quick, but it was fun and sweet.  

With only one book in the backlist, I want to pick that up soon and read it and am hoping for more from this author in the future.   

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 43 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Last Night in London by Karen White

The Last Night in London

by Karen White

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 480

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A captivating story of friendship, love and betrayal – and finding hope in the darkness of war.

London, 1939. Beautiful and ambitious Eva Harlow and her American best friend, Precious Dubose, are trying to make their way as fashion models. When Eva falls in love with Graham St. John, an aristocrat and Royal Air Force pilot, she can’t believe her luck – she’s getting everything she ever wanted. Then the Blitz devastates her world, and Eva finds herself slipping into a web of intrigue, spies and secrets. As Eva struggles to protect everything she holds dear, all it takes is one unwary moment to change their lives forever.

London, 2019. American journalist Maddie Warner travels to London to interview Precious about her life in pre-WWII London. Maddie, healing from past trauma and careful to close herself off to others, finds herself drawn to both Precious and to Colin, Precious’ enigmatic surrogate nephew. As Maddie gets closer to her, she begins to unravel Precious’ haunting past – and the secrets she swore she’d never reveal …

Kritters Thoughts:  One of my favorite types of historical fictions to read is when there is a historical storyline and a current storyline and they will weave in and out of each other throughout the book.  In this book, both take place in London, one in 1939 where Precious Dubose and her best friend Eva Harlow are trying to make it with the impending threat of a war and the other is in 2019 as Maddie Warner has traveled to interview Precious about the fashion that happened before and during the war and she gets much more than a story about fashion.

This book has quite the cast of characters because of the two timelines and they overlap a bit, but this was one of those books that I definitely took notes so I could make sure I knew who was who and major defining characteristics of each.  Without spoiling, it was good to have notes when the characters started partaking in nefarious activities and I wanted to keep alliances and enemies straight!  

This was one of those books that I would recommend to people who don't tend to read historical fiction often as the present storyline infuses some moments where the reader can get into present day shoes and enjoy them for a minute.  There were some great twists and turns throughout the book that kept the book pacing moving and moving, so this book read quick and easy and I loved that!

Karen White writes broadly so I love that she can write some straight women's fiction, but can also do historical fiction with the same great women characters just in a different moment in time!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 43 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Under the Southern Sky by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Under the Southern Sky

by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Publisher: Gallery Books

Pages: 400

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Recently separated Amelia Buxton, a dedicated journalist, never expected that uncovering the biggest story of her career would become deeply personal. But when she discovers that a cluster of embryos belonging to her childhood friend Parker and his late wife Greer have been deemed “abandoned,” she’s put in the unenviable position of telling Parker—and dredging up old wounds in the process.

Parker has been unable to move forward since the loss of his beloved wife three years ago. He has all but forgotten about the frozen embryos, but once Amelia reveals her discovery, he knows that if he ever wants to get a part of Greer back, he’ll need to accept his fate as a single father and find a surrogate.

Each dealing with their own private griefs, Parker and Amelia slowly begin to find solace in one another as they navigate an uncertain future against the backdrop of the pristine waters of their childhood home, Cape Carolina. The journey of self-discovery leads them to an unforgettable and life-changing lesson: Family—the one you’re born into and the one you choose—is always closer than you think.

Kritters Thoughts:  Amelia Buxton has quite the life events happen one on top of the other and they bring her back to her hometown to put the pieces back together and decide what she wants to do next, some interesting encounters with someone from the past may really alter her path.  

There is so much that happens in this book from journal entries from Parker's deceased wife to professional upsets to the most obvious of personal entanglements, this book had it all.  I don't know if you would define it as a women's fiction or romance, but either way, the reader knows that this could more than likely end up in a happy ever after, but the journey is so worth it with this one!  The ups and the downs were perfectly timed and I appreciated that life had some speed bumps before things could come together.  

I have been a Kristy Woodson Harvey fan for a long time and always anticipate her books as she writes women who are full and whole with honest hurdles and stories.  I don't need to read a synopsis, I will read what she writes!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: An Invincible Summer by Mariah Stewart

An Invincible Summer

by Mariah Stewart

Publisher: Montlake

Pages: 373

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It was a lifetime ago that recently widowed Maggie Flynn was in Wyndham Beach. Now, on the occasion of her fortieth high school reunion, she returns to her hometown on the Massachusetts coast, picking up right where she left off with dear friends Lydia and Emma. But seeing Brett Crawford again stirs other emotions. Once, they were the town’s golden couple destined for one another. He shared Maggie’s dreams—and eventually, a shattering secret that drove them apart.

Buying her old family home and resettling in Wyndham Beach means a chance to start over for Maggie and her two daughters, but it also means facing her rekindled feelings for her first love and finally confronting—and embracing—the past in ways she never thought possible. Maggie won’t be alone. With her family and friends around her, she can weather this stormy turning point in her life and open her heart to the future. As for that dream shared and lost years ago? If Maggie can forgive herself, it still might come true.

Kritters Thoughts:  Maggie Flynn is a widow and isn't feeling at home in the city where her and her late husband made a home, with a reunion that takes her back to her hometown, she wonders if a move would "move" her into her next phase of life.  At the same time, her friends and her two daughters are going through drama of their own and the author gives them "screen time" to share with the readers their own struggles. 

For me this book had to live up to my current love of Mariah Stewart.  I have read a few books of hers and flew through them, so the pacing of this book was disappointing as at some moments it just meandered on.  It felt as though there were times where extra detail was given that could have been omitted and the need for action made it hard for me to concentrate on the story.    

The characters kept me reading this book.  I loved that the author not only concentrated on Maggie Flynn, but her friends and daughters.  There were moments when I was enjoying one daughter or the other better than Maggie's own story, but throughout the book, I loved the character development and interactions and was connected to them throughout the book.  

Before reading this book, I was a Mariah Stewart fan and although this book didn't live up to my love for her other books, I will definitely continue to read in her hopes of finding that initial spark!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 42 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Three Missing Days by Colleen Coble

Three Missing Days

by Colleen Coble

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A shocking murder.

Chief of Police Jane Hardy plunges into the investigation of a tragic local murder, but everything in her personal life is unraveling.

Her son’s arrest.

Jane’s son is accused of manslaughter, and she has to decide whether or not she can trust her ex, Reid, in the attempt to prove Will’s innocence—and whether she’s going to trust Reid with her heart.   

Three missing days.

With the recent discovery of her mother’s whereabouts, Jane learns not only that her mother stole something vital all those years ago but that she drugged Jane so she wouldn’t be able to remember. What happened in those three days could change everything.

It all started with one little lie. But the truth is finally coming out.

Kritters Thoughts:  The third in a series and this is one of those that yes the mystery is self contained in this book, but there is a lot of character development from book to book and it is so much better to start at square one in this instance.

Chief Police Jane Hardy is dealing with a dead body in chapter one and the book sets of sprinting.  Along with her ex and their kid, they are navigating what kind of relationship they will have in the future and also dealing with his ex who has been giving them a hard time!  

I can't remember if I felt this way in the previous books, but there were quite a few mysteries happening in this one book and while they all get solved in one way or another in the end, there were times where I felt like it was teetering on too much.  The author did bring it together, but I was concerned.  

Only a side note, this is Christian fiction and I knew that going in, but it felt as though there were a few times where it was forced into the book and it didn't seem as natural as Colleen Coble tends to do.  

Colleen Coble is a great author and I love her stories.  It was fun looking he up after finishing this one and finding out I haven't completed her backlist - YET!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 41 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.