"A Letter From Pearl Harbor", by Anna Stuart

This fiction is based on historical events.

Ninety-eight-year old Ginny McAllister’s is at the twilight of her life and has one last wish for her granddaughters Robyn and Ashleigh before the lights go off: go to Hawaii and complete a treasure hunt containing clues to her past...... Her story promises to be epic.

Told in two timelines through the viewpoints of older and younger Ginny and her granddaughter Robyn “A Letter From Pearl Harbor” is a captivating story of courage, resilience, love in unexpected places, about family and the horrors and after-effects of war.

The historical part of the story brings us to Oahu in the fall of 1941 where Ginny is a pilot and flight instructor. In her words she recalls her experiences before, during and after the surprise military strike by Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the U.S naval base. As the sisters unravel clues after clues we follow Ginny and her friends facing all the obstacles they encountered as brave women pilots in the early 1940’s. At the time when the mindset of American was not in favour of female pilots ferrying missions. To add poignancy to the plot real historical figures intermingle with the fictional ones and we learn the struggles these women had to face to be recognised: Jacqueline Cochran, Nancy Love make a cameo appearance in this segment although flipping the pages we come across important figures of the times as well as civilians and military heroes.

As the story flips flops back and forth in time we discover that the characters are a total contrast to each other. By the end, the girls learn to live and love and make their dreams come true. The characters are well-crafted and easy to love.

The storyline flows smoothly; the tempo is slow intercepted by well place action and fascinating facts and details to keep us engaged till the very end. I find the way it is penned to have originality.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the copy of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

"Ricochet" by Ty Patterson

Cutter Grogan Thriller book # 4

What to say when you have a tough guy with smarts taking risky missions to save others you will find that Cutter Grogan is such a man. He is in high demand and will not refuse to save the day especially if the request comes from the vice president. Her daughter now station in Iraq on a humanitarian mission has lost touch with her handlers. She may or not be in trouble, who knows if ISIL has her, if so what a prize they have. In “Ricochet”, Cutter will bring her home at any cost. As we follow him into this lawless and dangerous country we fall into great action sequences that take our breath away.

This is another “unputdownable” storyline I enjoyed very much. It is a kind of action thriller that seizes your attention from the get-go and holds you captive till you reach the conclusion. Action galore, ok, maybe over the top but after so many books by this author I would have been totally disappointed if Mr. Patterson hadn’t stick to his winning formula. This thriller is written to captivate us and for us to be invested in the characters and it does exactly this. It is very hard not to root for Cutter’s and hope he succeeds unscathed, he is such a caring, loveable but a deadly operative. Although he works for himself not for any government he has all the support he wishes for and to top all his best friend Zeb Carter and his team will assist him whenever the need.

Another captivating read that is smooth sailing from start to finish. Thank you, Mr. Patterson for providing hours of enjoyment to your readers.

"The Hitler Years", by Frank McDonough

Volume 2: Disaster, 1940-1945

The huge canvas this book covers is vividly written and beautifully presented with a body of illustrations, a time machine told in a narrative free of academic jargon, one giving us just enough details into the experiences of Germans during this frightening period: The Times of the Gestapo.

In volume 2, the companion to “The Hitler Years” Triumph, 1933-1939 is not an easy read it tells of the rise and catastrophic fall of the Nazi regime, a descent into barbarism, genocide and war that cost millions of lives. “Disaster” charts the dramatic changes for the Third Reich despite Hitler’s grand ambitions. This book focuses heavily on military campaigns, carefully analyzing each major battle and the turning points they represented. It makes it clear the importance to understand that Nazi Germany was in search of living space and for this to be achieved was through expansion taking lands from racially inferior nations.

Given the scope of the book (656 pages) some may say more attention could have been given to some aspects instead of others: ex. German massacres of prisoners of war. How does one condense satisfactorily so many elements in a single book? ”Disaster” is well-researched, well- structured and well-written.

If you are interested in this period of time both volumes are combinations of expert historical analysis.

Thank you St-Martin press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, this is the way I see it.

"Break Her Heart", by Melinda Woodhall

This novella ends a thrilling series although Nessa has been quite active in Ms. Woodhall other series I just plain hate to see her go. She was the star player investigating numerous gruesome cases and following her solving the cases was a joy to read.

In “Break Her Heart” Nessa partners with the Atlanta police to hunt down a violent predator known as the Eastside Ripper. In her investigation Nessa uncovers links between the Ripper and a young woman fighting for her life at Rosewood General Hospital and the body of another woman discovered in Rosewood. How many more will they find?....and the hunt is on.

This is a fast-paced and exciting read. In a short period of time Nessa accomplishes miracles. In a novella you need to get to the point fast and not pussy-foot around. This story gives it all: an exciting story, with lots of suspense, plenty of twists and turns and great characters playing roles to a tee and most of all a plotline that has us glued to every word from the opening pages till we reach a very satisfying conclusion. Ms. Woodhall knows how to pen a wonderful story without embellishing it with decorative details.

But as in any novella, the thrill is too short and leaves you wanting more.

I received a free copy of this book and I leave a voluntary review, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

"The Wilkes Insurrection", by Robbie Bach

Robbie Back fictionalizes a scary scenario that conveys a horrifying message: America is more vulnerable than ever. Domestic terrorism is a real threat.

A snippet:

It opens when a terrorist bomb blows out a door on Flight 209 forcing an emergency crash landing at Offutt Air Force Base. Major Tamika Smith is in charge of the Search and Rescue efforts assisted by the base commander Jerry Jessup. The crash is the first of several terrorist acts that followed. Smith and Jessup lives were tragically altered on 9/11 and once again they are confronted with more terrorism.

My thoughts:

The pace is good and the chapter are not too long. The story exposes a divided America in the grips of terrorists’ attacks how it was done then and how it is still done today.

The story is told by different characters: the terrorist, the victims and the heroes. Major Smith is the principal player with all her demons haunting her. This badass ex-military who served in Afghanistan became an instant media sensation after the crash. The main villain Ford Wilkes has no particular qualities and is so easy for us to dislike. (Well he is the bad guy after all). Wilkes does the planning and hires Obaid bin Latif, a Jihadist, to execute the bombing and along the way Latif manages to evade capture time and time again....Do we have attacks in “The Wilkes Insurrection” so many to last a life time...The author does a masterful job maintaining suspense.

This is dialogue driven and easy to follow, definitely a storyline that flows effortlessly from page to page. It was very captivating till the final chapter when Tamika’s gave a long political speech then I lost focus and inevitably skipped to the end. Integrating politics was a turn off at this point.

I received this book from Greenleaf Book Group via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it

"Her Secret War", by Pam Lecky

May 1941

This is a story that explores a deadly tangle of love and espionage in war-torn Britain.

Sarah Gillespie loses her family and home when Germany bombs her hometown of Dublin. Some days later the man of her live enlists in the RAF and leaves Ireland. Sarah has a tough decision to make, should she stay in Ireland or seek refuge with relatives in Hampshire, England. Her decision to move comes with its own problems and challenges. Now she is in a world dedicated to the war effort and poses a test of her loyalty and bravery.

The WW11 fiction has a bit of everything: mystery, suspense, history, espionage, some action and a tad romance all neatly wrap up with political intrigue. Told from Sarah’s perspective the story brings originality to WW11 and as we follow her after the devastating loss of her family to England where her skills embroils her in a dangerous espionage mission we can only wish her all the best..

I found ¾ of the book to be extremely slow the author tells the daily life of Sarah ex.: she has breakfast, goes to work, has a drink with her friends, go to the cinema...oh yes meets a young man, hates the young, interested in the young man...till one day she gets recruited for a mission and then this story turns around and get very intriguing...will Sarah get caught, what will she do if not, will this draftsperson from Vickers Supermarine give the highly secret plan sought out to the enemy....then the twists come our way and we are into one exciting drama.

In all the story is well told and the characters are well defined. I love how this book leaves us to wonder if another secret mission awaits Sarah in the future...is a sequel is in the making for our heroine. I would no doubt read it.

I received this book from Avon UK via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it

"Her Fatal Hour", by Melinda Woodhall

Book # 7 in Veronica Lee thriller series

This latest is definitely Melinda Woodhall at her best.

No worries, you can read each book separately without any problems although I highly recommend reading each book in sequence in order to get the outmost of the exiting stories they provide. Reading, you will notice that this series overlaps with the other series in Ms. Woodhall’s library.

What is in store for you, here is a snippet:

A Young woman meets a violent death after attending a party at an exclusive resort. Veronica Lee is the link between the victim and a prominent billionaire. A friend of the victim on the run wants to expose the ugly truth behind the circle of powerful men and Veronica will get to the truth at any cost....

My thoughts:

With the opening lines Jeffrey Epstein came to mind and I couldn’t stop seeing some resemblance between the facts in Epstein saga and Ms. Woodhall’s fiction. ”Her Fatal Hours” takes us on a journey where sex trafficking of minors and murder are at the forefront and where the rich and famous have no fear. We are immersed right from the start in conspiracies and criminal activities. Along the way we have interesting twists and turns to keep us on our toes and flipping the pages for another exciting outcome. Veronica is once more on top of her trade, as a journalist see goes for the truth first and a story second, digs deep to get what she wants and not shy to asked help from her friends.

I wondered all through who could be the mysterious “Tin Man” that kept popping in and out and killing young women, only in the last pages did his true identity revealed. We also have familiar characters working alongside Veronica to engage us in the drama as well as adding a touch into their personal live for us to discover..

What an exciting story played out by wonderful characters.

I received a free copy of this book and I leave a voluntary review, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

"The Girl on the Platform", by Ellie Midwood

The story is based on the life of Libertas Schulze-Boysen who worked at the MGM Studios in Berlin during in 1930’s when Hitler was in control and saw what was going on. When her friend Martin disappeared to later be found dead of apparent suicide but in fact he was thrown out of a window she knew something had to be done. With Harro by her side joining the resistance was the right thing to do. They devoted their lives tearing down Hitler’s regime and we follow them smuggling classified documents, distribute leaflets exposing the Nazi’s lies and holding clandestine meeting we only can see how resourceful and courageous these two were.

This is an incredible story of two strong resistance fighters and how careful they planned their every move and how they developed a rebellion that eventually cost them their lives. Ms. Midwood does an amazing recreation and has shown us how determined these two were despite all the dangers surrounding them.

I read quite a few books concerning the resistance but this is my first set within Germany that highlights the Red Orchestra, longest operating group within the borders. Amazing how interesting and what you can get out of an historical fiction such as “The Girl on the Platform” when it is penned by a master. Ms. Midwood is top notch in relating even that occurred during this terrible period in history in ways that hold our attention captive from start to finish. The characters come to live on the pages and I could feel how scared and how anxious they were....once more well-said and well-done.

I received a copy of this book from Bookouture via Netgalley for my thoughts