The Expat's Affair by Kimberly Belle

 

My thoughts

Definitely one of my favorite authors. I always want to read a Kimberly Belle book. And I'm never disappointed. 

This story is set in Amsterdam. It's about two women. One married to a very rich man. One who recently moved to Amsterdam after a divorce. This is about how diamonds may not always be a girls best friend....

When Rayna wakes to find a body in the shower she runs. Of course she does. Wouldn't you. It was just a night of drinking and meaningless sex. A man she met on Tinder. Xander works for a very rich family. He also knows how to make or grow diamonds. Perfect diamonds. Diamonds that you can't tell from the real thing. Could that have gotten him killed? What does Rayna know? 

Willow is married to Thomas Prins. Thomas Prins is the CEO of the diamond company. Willow has many secrets. But would she have had reason to kill Xander. Yes they kind of had a fling. Sorta of. Yes she has kept something from her husband. But he has secrets too. Maybe he is the killer. Or possibly it's his sister Fleur. She's angry at Thomas but is she angry enough to do this?

A story of an unlikely friendship. A family who seem to only care about money and standing. Someone either killed or had Xander killed. But could it have been one of the Prins? And the diamonds. Are they fake or the real thing? 

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I loved the characters. I did figure out who the stalker was but that was ok. It didn't take away from the story at all. I didn't trust anyone they were all suspects to me. lol This story kept me guessing about some things though. Kept me turning the pages all the way. There was a secret unveiled that I didn't see coming and was so glad of the way it played out. I can't tell you what it is though. Just know the story ends good. 

Kimberly Belle always delivers for me. Well written and edge of your seat thrills. Family drama. A few lies and a murder. What more do you need? It's one I do highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.  

About

An American expat‘s startling discovery plunges her into the glamorous but deadly world of Amsterdam’s diamond industry.

Following a nasty divorce, Rayna Dumont came to Amsterdam for a fresh start. She’s never been the type for a one-night stand, but this move is all about adventure, and Xander is handsome and successful and more than willing to go along for the ride. Until the morning after, when Rayna finds him dead on the shower floor and millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds missing from his safe.

From her lavish home in the heart of the city, Willow Prins is captivated by the news. Her husband is Xander’s former boss and heir to a diamond house, and the scandal strains their already-rocky marriage. As the house comes under scrutiny, Willow wonders if her life is about to implode—and how much of the blame she can place on Rayna. Soon, Willow and Rayna are dragged into the dark and dangerous underbelly of the diamond market, where they’ll have to uncover the truth to survive. Who killed Xander? Where are the missing diamonds? And who can you trust in a strange and unfamiliar city thousands of miles from home?

The Famine Orphans by Patricia Falvey

 

My thoughts

This was my first read by this author. I will look for more.

Quote on the last page that got to me:

"We are emigrants and we exist in two worlds, one past, one present, and we are nourished by both."

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It started out a little slow for me. To much on the ship I think. Though it was a necessary part of the story. 

The Irish potato farms were hit by a plague. The potatoes were rotting and people were starving. Most had to give up everything and join workhouses just to survive. Some didn't even survive that. This is a story of what happened to the many orphans were starving in Ireland. The ones who were sent to Australia to become a servant. Hopefully to find a job with a good family. 

This is the story of a group of young girls on a ship called the Sabine. A group who worked together on the ship to survive and hopefully get a good report so they would be hired. In this story you meet Kate Gilvarry. Kate left Ireland after the death of her mother. She left behind a younger brother. Kate works hard but seems to have horrible luck at every turn. Some didn't like her and to me it was just very unjust. Kate was smart and worked hard. But she also endured a lot. She was definitely a fighter. A survivor. 

You get to know other girls who were in Kate's small group also. What happened to each and how they ended up. This story does not leave you hanging. It has closure on all counts. Kate is the one telling this story and what a story it is. 

From 1848 on she tells about all the tribulations and triumphs she and her friends endure. There is a love story in here also. While I liked both men to an extent, one really captured my heart. I was glad Kate ended up happy after all she went through. Also the other girls. Bridie, Patsy, Mary, Lizzie, and Sheila. Lizzie and Sheila had the strongest friendship of them all but all were friends. Bridie was my favorite character besides Kate. She was just that kind of person who you want in your corner.

I will never as long as I have lived and may still live, understand why being an orphan makes people want to be cruel. It's not like they can help what happened to them. They have lost everyone and then face cruelty???

This book is based on the truth. Well researched and descriptive. It will hold your heart in many places. It is one that I do highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.

About

A powerful, captivating novel of historical fiction from the acclaimed author of The Titanic Sisters, based on the little-known story of the thousands of young women sent from Irish workhouses to Australia after the Famine.

1848: The girls, 4,000 in all, come from every part of Ireland—from the shores of Galway to the Glens of Ulster and Belfast’s teeming streets—to board ships bound for Australia. All were chosen from Ireland’s crowded workhouses. Most are orphans. The Earl Grey Scheme was presented as an opportunity for young women to gain employment as domestic servants in the Colony. But there is another, unstated purpose—the girls are to “civilize” the many men sent there as convicts, so that settlements can be built.
 
Kate Gilvarry has spent six months in a Newry workhouse, subsisting on a diet of watery porridge. She knows there’s no future for her either within its walls or outside, in a ravaged, starving land. But once Kate’s ship completes the harrowing voyage, she and her companions find their reception in Sydney dismayingly unwelcoming, as anti-Irish sentiment grows. Homesick, and disillusioned by love following a shipboard crush, Kate strives to fit in, first as the servant of a demanding English woman, then as a farmer’s bride in the Outback.
 
When heat and drought force her husband to leave for long periods to work on a sheep ranch, Kate is left alone to fend off wild animals, drifters, and her aching loneliness. She longs to return to Ireland. But first, this beautiful, unforgiving country will teach her about resilience and survival, and the limitless possibilities that come with courage and love.
 
Evocative and compelling, The Famine Orphans is a testament to the young women whose pioneering spirit left an enduring legacy in a land so far from home. 

Marguerite By The Lake by Mary Dixie Carter

 

My thoughts

This is the second book I've read by this author. I believe this is her second book. Though it was fairly good, it was also a bit of a let down for me. Not bad, but not one that wowed me either. It kept me turning the pages and guessing what was coming though. That was a good thing.

I totally disliked the main character, Phoenix. She may have known flowers and other plants but was sorely lacking when it came to people. I didn't care for Marguerite either. She was to self-centered and came across as the "I'm better than you", type. She could be so condescending and obnoxious. Especially towards Phoenix. I understand why partly but not when Phoenix saved Marguerite's husbands life. Was she not grateful to the young lady? I didn't like him, Geoffrey, either. He seemed like the type that just used people to get what he wanted. I guess the only one I really liked was Taylor, the Gray's daughter. She at least seemed to care about people. She didn't much care for Phoenix though and I fully understand that.

This book was well written though it left a few things unanswered. For me at least. If I say what though it will give away some things that are important to the story. I did not like the ending. To me it did not sum up anything to well. I wanted some answers. I also wanted to see someone pay for what happened to Marguerite. 

This book had some horror overtures going on. Maybe a little gothic in the living picture. lol It didn't make me cringe though. It was just part of the story. Phoenix was losing her ever loving mind. What she stayed for is beyond me. But stay she did. And at the end I was just a bit confused. Did she burn the trees or herself. Or maybe herself and the trees. 

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC. 

About

From Mary Dixie Carter comes an atmospheric, tense novel about the death of a wealthy garden designer, her lonely widower, and the scrappy young gardener who smoothly steps into her life.

Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.

When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful—perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.

But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.

Death At A Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong

 

My thoughts

I've enjoyed this series so much. I already look forward to the next book. I am rooting for Gray and Mallory to end up together. Though she has gone back 150 years in the past and basically decided to stay there Mallory pretty much has fallen for Gray. 

In this book the group go to the Cranstons estate for a wedding. While there they encounter a few things that will make you cringe. And there is a murder. The murder of the groom's best friend. All is not as it seems though. While trying to find out who the murderer is Gray and Mallory uncover some pretty dark and sinister things. Things that the deceased may have done and the grounds keeper is part of. 

I enjoyed this book so much. It was a real page turner. It keeps you guessing and keeps you on edge. The things going on are of a touchy nature. Or I should say things there went on. There are a few love tangles along the way. Some scandals also. Even back in this time period women were held responsible for anything that may happen to them of a sexual nature that they may not have wanted. Pretty much the same is today.

There are quite a few secrets revealed. A murder of course. Attempted kidnapping possibly. There are a few who could be guilty. I can't say I was shocked at who the murderer was even though I didn't guess. The reason fit. 

My favorite character in this book was Fiona. She was just fun. And so honest. My least favorite was Muller. He was a cad of the worse kind. I look forward to reading more about Gray, Mallory, Isla, and McCreadie. Where they will end up next. I think this is my favorite book of this series so far. All are great though. This author knows how to write a story that pulls you in and keeps you wanting more.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.

About

Death at a Highland Wedding is the fourth installment in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's gripping Rip Through Time Novels.

After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn’t what she expected, she's developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.

Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie's younger sister's wedding. The McCreadies and the groom’s family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who's been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat's injuries don't match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost.

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s unique time travel mystery series continues to entertain as Mallory adjusts to life in the 1870s. 

Letters From Strangers by Susan Walter

 

My thoughts

I read and listened to this book. The narrators did such a good job. It felt like I was right in the middle of the drama. And boy was there drama. But it was so good. A well written story. It will make you stop and think about what you would do in this situation. Both as the mothers and as the child. 

This is a story of love and grief. Of loss and finding. A story of family. 

It's told from a few different points of views and different timelines. 

Jane's dad died and she found letters in his desk from another woman. Not from her mother. Jane's parents never separated or divorced so this is a shock to her. Jane takes the letters to her house and reads them. She finds that her dad may have fathered a child by this other woman who is only know by initials GM. And she lives in Boston, MA. 

Apparently Jane's dad has been seeing this woman for many years. She knew he was married but still had a lifelong affair. I did not like her. She should have had better sense than that. How dare she. And yes part of me felt sorry for her. He was her first love and seems they both loved each other deeply. But he married someone else so how much could he really have loved her? Or respected her. Or himself.

You read some letters to a child that was given up for adoption almost seventeen years prior and letter from the mother to the child. Also the love letters from GM to Richie, the married man. 

I didn't like Jane's husband either. He was not in the least supportive about her and finding out about this other woman. He was not supportive to her in her quest to find a possible half brother. I never believed he wanted a child either. He was just a jerk. 

I think Jane's mother was a bit mean but I kind of understood her feelings. In a way. She had been done wrong throughout her marriage. She had two children by this man and he was seeing another woman almost the whole time. 

I enjoyed reading this book even though parts sure made me mad. I liked the son, Adam and I loved Rowan. Though I do think he and Jane rushed into sex way to fast. I still liked him. I liked Jane and her brother Kenny. I finally liked her mother but it took a while. I didn't like Richie or GM. 

This story keeps you turning the pages to find out who is who and what happened back then. Also what is going to happen now. It has a big surprise that I personally did not see coming for some reason. But I did love it. Well played... 

This book hits on abortion, death, loss of baby, adoption, weight problems(both losing and gaining). It shows that people have real problems. Lots of real problems. 

Thank you to the publisher and author for the arc of this book. 

About

From the creator of the 2017 film All I Wish comes the heartbreaking story of two strangers searching for the truth about their families—and discovering a secret that will change their lives forever.

Jane’s father is far from perfect. But his sudden death brings crushing grief. As Jane grapples with her pain, life delivers another a stack of letters pointing to a secret life. A life her father shared with another woman…who may have had his child.

Across the country, sixteen-year-old Adam is self-destructing. His adoptive parents never intended to show him the unsigned letters from his birth mother, but he is desperate for answers, even if they hurt.

Jane and Adam are on a collision course, but not for the reasons we might suspect. Because the letters do not tell the whole story. What is true is that Adam and Jane are both looking for a woman who does not want to be found.

A family saga spanning two decades, this emotional story explores how good things can grow from the ashes of old scars.

Little Child Gone by Stacy Green

 

My thoughts

This is the best series I've read. The best thriller series. I'm so glad there will be more Nikki Hunt books. This author knows how to pull you in and keep you turning the pages. Holding your interest and making you feel like you are there. Stacy Green is one fantastic thriller/mystery writer. 

In this, book #10, Nikki Hunt has a couple of cases going. One a cold case. Two bodies found in a boarded up apartment in a house. The other a boy is missing. Actually there are a couple of boys missing around the same age. 

Ms Smith and her three children move in with Karl Hendrickson. Not in a romantic way but to work. To help him and have a safe place to live. Karl cared deeply for Ms Smith. Like the daughter he always wanted he said. He had a daughter but she was a bit cruel. She didn't care about anyone else and hated Ms Smith and her children. She accused them of sponging off her father and stealing from him. She said they were using him to get money. Karl told his daughter to leave and never return. 

When Christy and Jared's son goes missing Nikki wonders if it's possibly related to two other freshman boys who went missing. One was found washed up on the creek bed but the other was still missing. Taylor was mad at his mom and she figured that was the reason he didn't come home. Until she finds out he never showed for work. And he never contacted anyone. 

There is a whole lot going on in this book but I promise it's easy to follow. You hear all about each family. Both the cold case and the newly missing boy. Nikki and her team work hard to find out who the bodies in the closet are and who took Taylor. Or if Taylor ran away. She investigates all the involved parties and uncovers a few things that these people didn't want her to know about. Or anyone to know about. 

This author always writes books that keep you guessing but rarely will you figure out who did what and why. At least with this one I didn't. The descriptions are so well done and the edge of your seat thrills are perfection. Stacy Green always produces the best thriller books.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC. 

About

The wind from the storm outside blows through the house, making Nikki’s eyes sting. The secret room is hidden behind a wardrobe in the dusty, abandoned living room. A light flickers to reveal a dark stain on the floor, and two sets of fragile bones…

Standing in the old farmhouse, Special Agent Nikki Hunt holds her breath as the smell of bleach overwhelms her. She can’t take her eyes off the blue baby toys scattered around the floor as her team examine the remains. A housekeeper and her three children disappeared from the property ten years ago. Do the bones belong to two of them? Did the other two survive?

But before Nikki has a chance to investigate further, she receives a panicked call from the local sheriff begging for her help: fourteen-year-old Taylor Hall has gone missing. In the boy’s grand family home, Nikki finds his mother and father utterly distraught, but there are whispers about his mother’s drinking habit. Despite the younger children’s rosy cheeks, and the plates of homemade fudge, is this family hiding secrets?

While digging into Taylor’s life, Nikki spots a crumpled note sticking out of his locker at school. Her finger traces the exact date the housekeeper went missing from the old farmhouse, and a “Bailey”. Is this Taylor? As a child, did he survive what happened all those years ago? Or is someone playing a cruel game with Nikki?

The truth about Taylor’s real family is deadlier than Nikki could imagine, and he will have to dig deeper than ever before to save him. Can she unravel the terrible events of the past and protect more than one innocent life before her time runs out?

Fans of Lisa Regan, Mary Burton and Kendra Elliot will be up all night reading this electrifying thriller from USA Today bestseller Stacy Green.