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Good Luck to Murder
From Amazon:
Dreams, wishes, fantasies, and.. murder?
Fiona’s good friend and fellow teacher, Lucky Maguire leads everyone to believe he has won a huge jackpot! Only Lucky turns out not to be so lucky–he winds up dead and his supposed winning lottery ticket missing!
Yikes!
Did Lucky really win the lottery and if so, where is the ticket hidden?
Who knew for sure if he truly was Pittsburgh’s newest millionaire?
Double yikes!
Join Fiona and the gang for this winning cozy mystery that’s sure to keep you betting on the suspects!
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2024
I found this book to be as awesome as the last one I read. I’m not reading them in order, but the main characters are well known to me. McDonald weaves not only romance, but murder, suspense, drama and spiritual entities in each book. Such fun to read an earlier book with those components as well as laughs liberally dosed throughout.
Dark Betrayal
From Amazon
Britain, February 392 AD.
The Roman Empire is on the brink of civil war.
The Western Roman Emperor Valentinian has died in mysterious circumstance following a long running dispute with the commanding general of his army, Arbogastes, a Frank. It is feared that Arbogastes has a candidate he will install on the Western throne as his puppet.
The Eastern Emperor Theodosius fears that the Empire will once more be plunged into civil war. The war chest is depleted, and Theodosius needs the money to finance an army. Previously the Emperor spared the lives of the usurper Magnus Maximus’ wife Elen and their two children when he was overthrown. He now wants old friends Flavius and Siward to find Elen. She might know what happened to the Silver Host, a treasure believed to have been hidden by Magnus and his men that can fund the looming civil war.
The political situation is now on a knife edge…
Rich with historical detail and intrigue, Dark Betrayal is an action adventure and a must for anyone interested in the time when Rome’s rule was threatened by political intrigue and barbarian uprisings.
My Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical dramaReviewed in the United States on February 5, 2024
This is the first book I’ve read from this author. This novel is full of the Roman Empire around 392 AD and a total departure from any other historical book I’ve read. That it is based on actual history as we know it at this time, makes the reading more realistic. Of course, the Roman Empire as previously written as well as the brink of war, secret treasures, ladies of ill repute, mystery, murder, betrayal, and much more. It was a rough time, and it was dicey, but love also prevailed. I never knew where this book was going next.
The Low Road
Book Title: The Low Road
Author: Katharine Quarmby
Publication Date: UK: 22nd June 2023. US: 19th September 2023. Australia/NZ: 2nd January 2024
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
Page Length: 400
Genre: Historical Fiction / Lesbian Fiction / Women’s Literature
Twitter Handle: @katharineq @cathiedunn
Instagram Handle: @katharineq_ @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky Handle: @cathiedunn.bsky.social
Hashtags: #WomensFiction #FeministFiction #HistoricalFiction #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/12/blog-tour-the-low-road-by-katharine-quarmby.html
Book Title and Author Name:
The Low Road
Katharine Quarmby
Blurb:
In 1828, two young women were torn apart as they were sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay. Will they ever meet again?
Norfolk, 1813. In the quiet Waveney Valley, the body of a woman – Mary Tyrell – is staked through the heart after her death by suicide. She had been under arrest for the suspected murder of her newborn child. Mary leaves behind a young daughter, Hannah, who is later sent away to the Refuge for the Destitute in London, where she will be trained for a life of domestic service.
It is at the Refuge that Hannah meets Annie Simpkins, a fellow resident, and together they forge a friendship that deepens into passionate love. But the strength of this bond is put to the test when the girls are caught stealing from the Refuge’s laundry, and they are sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, setting them on separate paths that may never cross again.
Drawing on real events, The Low Road is a gripping, atmospheric tale that brings to life the forgotten voices of the past – convicts, servants, the rural poor – as well as a moving evocation of love that blossomed in the face of prejudice and ill fortune.
Writing nature in The Low Road
Katharine Quarmby
One of the greatest joys of my life over the last few years has been watching small birds, trying to identify them and enjoying their birdsong, from the aggressive but tuneful robin to the liquid tones of a blackbird. What knowledge I had until recently came from my dad, who was really knowledgeable about the environment, perhaps from childhood growing up in Yorkshire, England, on a farm.
Although as a child I didn’t see the point of endless hours spent in bird hides and nature reserves, and grumbled when we went from youth hostel to youth hostel in the summer holidays, it has paid off. I’m happiest by water, gazing over green fields and gentle hills.
He died in 2017, when I was writing The Low Road, and in many ways the experience of grief and loss which is woven through the novel is an expression of the love I had for him, and other family members and friends we lost in a year when we experienced multiple bereavements.
His love of the natural world is woven into the book. Birds and the love of the Norfolk landscape is really where the book starts, as the main character, Hannah, recounts her childhood on an East Anglian farm, learning how to milk and her memories of living with her mother, before she dies, too young. “When we got to the church I would count the white and brown cattle out loud for Mama – one, two, up to thirty at times – as they grazed quiet upon the meadow lands… In the spring, violets and primroses burst out with colour in the green hedges and the birds sang their hearts out.”
After Hannah loses her mother, the people of the hometown we shared two hundred years or so apart, Harleston, in Norfolk, take up a collection for the orphan, and she is sent to the Refuge for the Destitute in London.
Hannah feels the absence of nature keenly in Hackney, and looks for it where she can – from the fields beyond the turnpike she sees on her first day, to the small nosegays that the kind housekeeper, Miss Clements, picks for the children on mother’s day, offering Hannah “daffydowndillys. I thought of how I had gathered flowers in the meadow for my mama”.
As she grows closer to another inmate at the Refuge, Annie, and even shares a hammock with her, she hears the sound of birds: “I heard the sparrows as they started yelling flying in and out of the ivy that had crept up the wall” outside the dormitory where the girls sleep.
The girls, desperate to stay together, conspire to steal from the Refuge, but are caught, stand trial and are convicted of robbery. They are to be transported, but first face the awfulness of the Female Penitentiary, prison hulks, and life on the streets. Hannah is transported separately from Annie, and sails to Australia not knowing if they will ever meet again.
In Australia, nature returns after the bleakness of London, and Hannah learns the names and calls of new birds and animals through the eyes of the man she is assigned to as servant, Frank. She is there to nurse his dying wife, and he is one of the few men she has met who abhors cruelty, whether it is to people or beasts, reminding her of her dead mother. Hannah lives on the farm with Frank and Eleanor, until she dies, and he then makes sure that she is free to leave. She chooses to stay, in a landscape she learns to love and which reminds her of the Norfolk home she lost so many years ago.
“A herd of healthy cows graze quietly in the field and then two men come walking, crying out to the cows…I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the cows going in for milking and the years roll away like a carpet up for beating and I am a child again”.
Hannah’s love of nature comes full circle, and at last she lives somewhere she can be safe. “I look overhead for the birds are circling, and then in a swift movement they swirl and come into roost. The great magpies strike out at last, one final defiant carol they give us, and then they settle and fall quite silent.”
Buy Links:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mg5RAD
Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-low-road-katharine-quarmby/7418138?ean=9781800182394
Author Bio:
Katharine Quarmby has written non-fiction, short stories and books for children and her debut novel, The Low Road, is published by Unbound in 2023. Her non-fiction works include Scapegoat: Why We Are Failing Disabled People (Portobello Books, 2011) and No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies and Travellers (Oneworld, 2013). She has also written picture books and shorter e-books.
She is an investigative journalist and editor, with particular interests in disability, the environment, race and ethnicity, and the care system. Her reporting has appeared in outlets including the Guardian, The Economist, The Atlantic, The Times of London, the Telegraph, New Statesman and The Spectator. Katharine lives in London.
Katharine also works as an editor for investigative journalism outlets, including Investigative Reporting Denmark and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.katharinequarmby.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KatharineQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katharinequarmbywriter/
LinkedIn: Katharine Quarmby – Writer, Journalist, Editor – Self-employed | LinkedIn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katharinequarmby_/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Katharine-Quarmby/author/B004GH8LS6
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2082356.Katharine_Quarmby
Which is More Startled – Bison or Squirrel?
The bison looks as startled as the squirrel.
Santa’s Early Christmas
From Amazon:
Last year Santa was hungry and thirsty by the time he delivered all the presents. But when he came home there was no food and drink left! This year Santa decides things are going to be different.
My Review:
This book is a treasure of a sweet book for children around Christmas time. The illustrations are perfect for each rhyming verse. The author adds longer verbiage after the illustrated story.
Think Tanka: vision in verse
From Amazon:
Throughout time, the poet has used words to convey feelings, share ideas and unite the reader with their vision. Think Tanka uses the traditional structure of Japanese lyric poetry to unite the reader to the vision of the poet. if you can “see” what she is trying to “say” in every grouping of 31 syllables, then she has done her job. Think Tanka is a book for those who appreciate poetry, those who enjoy short reads, people who like to smile and those who know what it is like to be lost in a world of imagination. Whether you are buying this book for yourself or someone else, you’ll want to make sure you get an extra copy so you’ll have one on hand to share.
My review:
Loved this book of Tanka. I don’t write in Tanka, but I love reading it. This book contains many Tanka of any subject. I loved “57 years together” together and all of them, really. I laughed when pantyhose bunched, but the Wedding March had started so too late to take them off. The bliss of flying ever higher to our eternal home spoke volumes. I felt every emotion as I read.
Murder by the Stroke
From Amazon:
Detective Landry’s old flame is drop-dead gorgeous, and so are her paintings! Pittsburgh’s most influential cultural enthusiasts are overjoyed when famous artist, Vashti, has scheduled a gala followed by a weeklong exhibit of her latest works. On the other hand, Detective Nathan Landry isn’t so excited about the invitation he has received to the gala. Back in the day, he and the renowned painter were lovers. That is, when her name was Sadie Jensen, or as Nathan’s sister liked to call her, “Psycho Sadie.” Art experts, and collectors alike, have been intrigued by a tiny brush stroke, known as an invisible stroke. So subtle and out of place is the technique, that Vashti’s elusive stroke has become as famous as a Where’s Waldo search. Meanwhile, Fiona finds herself captivated by more than Vashti’s flair for the obscure. Rather, she is far more interested in the gorgeous artist and Nathan’s past. Against his wishes, Fiona, her mother, and her mother-in-law attend the exhibit. Indeed, Vashti’s paintings are killing it in the art world, and in more ways than one.
My Review:
McDonald writes her books with plenty of romance, spy types, detectives, and fun quirky main characters. From that, she weaves in new characters and situations, always with crime sprinkled about. I’ve not read these books in oder, but I knew the main characters and the paintings are described as such that I’d want to see each setting in real life. Humor is used in abundance, making this a cozy murder romance.
Hollywood!
Yes. I love creating thse squirrel memes! Have a wonderful day!
The Countdown: The last breath
From Amazon:
Immerse yourself in the gripping crime suspense of “The Countdown,” a heart-pounding suspense/thriller that challenges everything you thought you knew. What if the reality you lived turned out to be a lie? What if every breath you took led you down a treacherous and dark path?
Justice, an innocent young woman, suffers a devastating loss as her parents fall victim to a twisted attack on their farm. Left with a heavy burden and a father who is confined to a wheelchair, she feels compelled to protect her family and her home. Little does she know that darkness lurks in the shadows, ready to reveal horrifying secrets.
When her father introduces Raymond Storm, an enigmatic ex-convict assigned to complete his community service, Justice’s distrust is palpable. How can she trust a man bound by chains? But as the layers of deception unfold, Justice realizes that her perception of reality has been shattered. Torn and confused by the unsettling truths staring her in the face, she descends into a chilling maze of deceit.
Secrets emerge, forcing Justice to confront the unthinkable and pushing her into a dangerous race against time. With each passing moment, her life hangs in the balance. As she grapples with the weight of regret, Storm and she grow close. He is determined to save her from the clutches of a malicious force. Together, they embark on an illicit journey, their souls soaring among the stars as they uncover the sinister underbelly of her father’s love.
In a heart-stopping narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat, “The Countdown” delivers suspense, thrills, and unexpected twists. Brace yourself for a relentless pursuit of truth, a chase that leaves no room for second chances. Prepare to question everything as Justice fights to survive, knowing that each breath could be her last.
My Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars Life is hardReviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024
Life is hard for Justice. Her work with the horses she loved was her only comfort for a long time. Her mother dead, or so her father said, and he was wheelchair bound, or so he wanted Justice to think he was. That gives a tiny speck of this novel away. In rides a newly freed from prison man to help out at the ranch. Was he going to kill or rape her? Would he be trouble? Why was mud on her father’s boots? What is Justice blocking out? Could the unimaginable happen more than once? This novel has all the feels and more.
When Angels Fly 