Interview with Catherine Anderson (The Christmas Room)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Christmas Room by Catherine Anderson is one of these special stories. A word of warning, it is not a “sugar and spice and everything nice” holiday novel. Yet, it is very realistic, believable, and leaves the reader with a good feeling as the book ends, a feeling of hope. The two holiday generational romances touch on grief, healing and redemption. Readers will go through a range of emotions with the characters from joy, …

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Interview with Christina Dodd (The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream is a classic Christina Dodd novel. The plot has Merry Byrd seriously injured in an explosion that meant to kill her. She had to undergo numerous facial surgeries that changed her appearance. To get the financing she had to make a pact with the devil, a possessive old geezer who wanted her for his trophy wife. Changing her name to Helen Brassard she endured nine long years of his …

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A Christmas Affair by Jodi Thomas

Title: A Christmas Affair Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #6.5 Rushed but well-meaning This was cute, if you don’t mind some cheese and purple prose. It’s so strange; I don’t remember associating Thomas with such fanciful dialogue before this year. Maybe my taste or perception has changed recently. I just couldn’t imagine real people saying some of those lines, and that sense of absurdity distances me from the story. Which might sound like an ironic paradox considering it’s fiction, …

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Interview with Katharine Ashe (The Duke)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Duke, part of the “Devil’s Duke” series by Katharine Ashe is part mystery, part historical, and part romance. She is one of those writers who allow readers to get swept up in the social, cultural, and political events of the 1800s. Readers of her books can begin to understand how a woman can be feminine yet possess a feminist’s attitude. The plot has her heroine, Lady Amarantha Vale, journeying to Scotland in search …

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Interview with Kerry Greenwood, Deb Cox, and Fiona Eagger (Phryne Fisher)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper If you do not already know of her, meet Phryne Fisher, the 1920’s detective that took Australia by storm. She came on the scene in 2006, the fabulous character of author Kerry Greenwood. Made into a TV series by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger in 2012 it aired for three seasons and can now be seen on Netflix. Those who enjoy the show and books might get more of Phryne since the creators are …

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The Trouble with Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones

Title: The Trouble with Twelfth Grave Author: Darynda Jones Series: Charley Davidson #12 supernatural Stephanie Plum at first, now so much more I would like to thank Darynda Jones, St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan, and NetGalley for enticing me to check out this series by offering a free copy of First Grave on the Right and allowing me to read an ARC of The Trouble with Twelfth Grave in exchange for an honest review. Here’s a spoiler alert, though I imagine most …

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Interview with Alix Rickloff (The Way to London)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Way To London by Alix Rickloff is very much a relationship story with the backdrop of World War II. It is the flip-flop Cinderella story about a rich girl and poor boy. Instead of having the military aspect the author concentrates on how the civilian population endured the war. The book starts out in Singapore in 1941, just three months before Pearl Harbor, where the population is still free of any concerns. Lucy …

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The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Title: The Broken Girls Author: Simone St. James Series: n/a A spooky, intelligent, character-driven thriller I would like to thank Simone St. James, Berkley/Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Idlewild Hall is a girls’ boarding school where the illegitimate, the mentally ill, and the troublemakers are swept under the rug. In 1950, four girls band together to survive the cold, dreadful place—and the ghost that uses their darkest …

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Interview with Lisa Scottoline (Damaged and Exposed)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Lisa Scottoline deserves a high five for her latest novels Damaged and Exposed. These back-to-back homeruns hit at reader’s heartstrings with her gripping and riveting storylines and characters. In Damaged, a ten-year-old child, Patrick, has fallen under the radar of the government agencies. His needs are not being met regarding dyslexia, abuse in a public school by a teacher’s aide, and having to endure classmates’ bullying. Law partner Mary DiNunzio is hired to fend …

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Interview with Linda Castillo (Down a Dark Road)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo is an electrifying thriller. It seems with each book, this being the ninth, she gets better and better. Within a riveting mystery she is able to seamlessly blend the Amish culture, giving glimpses and insights to their way of life. Once again small town Painters Mill police chief Kate Burkholder is forced to re-visit her childhood past. She is notified about the escape of Joseph King, convicted …

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