"Silent Mistresses", by John I. Rigoli

The Vatican chronicles book#3

What a gripping tale this chocking story turned out to be, although it may not please individuals with extreme religious beliefs I think this fiction may have a tad of reality not to be ignored.

Sister Maria Caruso is sent to the Eternal City to modernize the Bank’s books. She is the first woman to hold this esteem position- until the day she discovers an anomaly in the eight-figure fund. A secret account has not been funding charities rather individuals…..slush money given to clerics’ mistresses…..oh lala what a hot topic. Uncovering secrets the Vatican never wanted the world to know. With Maria’s perception of the Vatican shattered…..what will come next. One of those exciting reads. Enjoy.

This story is about a Vatican scandal, a nun who knows too much and a church willing to go to no end to keep their secrets silent…

I simply loved how the story develops in a rather unexpected manner opening our eyes to what is and what could be in an entertaining way. It is said the inspiration of this series is taken from real women who have been working hard alongside men their labour or knowledge ignored. But not anymore. Sister Maria is smart and is a great protagonist an asset in giving this story some truth. She faced Monseigneur, the head sister and eventually kidnappers, but Maria even with all her challenges knew what to do and held her own. All characters have great roles and played them not only to entertain us but make us wonder if something like this possibly could exist.

I found this story to be captivating, well-said and well paced and a topic not often tackled.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher the Book Whisperer for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

"Witness 8" by Steve Cavanagh

Eddie Flynn series book #8

A legal thriller

It opens with a bang….. a murder setting the stage for Ruby Johnson a nanny and cleaner to homes in the neighborhood to become the prime witness to a gruesome murder. …Will Ruby do the right thing and tell the authorities what she really saw and identify the right killer? Or will she do something else?... Knowing who he was and where he dumped the weapon was all she needed to put a plan into action

Of course, Ruby decision points to the wrong person and this poor man finds himself defended by a one-time con man Eddie Flynn who quickly took the case. It’s a race against time to uncover the truth while Eddie faces a personal threat from a hit man, the enigmatic Mr. Christmas.

Plain old murder mystery was not in the cards for Mr. Cavanagh he definitely had other ideas and has spun a very convoluted drama for us to enjoy. It is an amazing ride that had me hooked till I reached the last page. What a fun read and a fantastic story that dragged me in its fantastic plot, its legal sequences and its peculiar characters.

“Witness 8” is loaded with surprises and takes unexpected directions when Eddie finds himself defending his client while dealing with Mr. Christmas. The machinations is the game here Ruby played it well and her tactics blended well with the legal handlings and the investigations of Flynn’s team. This story is loaded with surprises and has left me constantly on the edge of my seat till the very end.

The build up to the conclusion and the end result is extremely well done. This is a wonderful novel: entertaining and pleasurable to read.

My thanks to Atria Books for this ARC which I received via Netgalley

"The Sinister", by David Putnam

Bruno Johnson #9

I love this series although I haven’t followed it in sequence, I had not trouble getting into it. Mr. Putnam knows how to give us one hard-boiled crime fiction that opens with a bang and goes on at breathtaking pace till you reach the last page.

In this edition Bruno, an ex-cop, who has been hunting down violent criminals and paroled ex-con…is in deep trouble. Just released from hospital recovering from a gunshot in the chest is now on the FBI Most Wanted list now holed up along with his wife at a hotel in Glendale. He isn’t really a criminal but isn’t opposed to crossing the line to help abused kids…. helping a friend this time has placed him in a tight spot…..

If you are a crime enthusiast like I am you will enjoy how the author places Bruno in implausible situations taking literary license detours to give us an exciting read one that has captivated and held me captive in never ending suspense. The language and descriptions show the author knows the lingo, no surprise there being a retired law enforcement officer he knows the game.

The plot is intriguing and action packed and is one tough story to put down. It gives us a good balance of likeable and not so likeable characters. In my books this story has all the attributes to make this a riveting read.

This book was available at Edelweiss as a read now I took advantage of the offer why not.

"Break My Fall", by Lynn H. Blackburn

Gossamer Falls #2

I like those romantic suspense novels with a twist of family drama to it and I know that Ms. Blackburn will pen one to entertain us from the beginning to the end and once more did not fail in doing so with “Break My Fall”.

Dr. Meredith Quinn is heading home to Gossamer Falls to practice dentistry. Her clinic will service mainly children and adults to underserved areas known to harbor drug traffickers an area where local law enforcement is looking the other way. In Gossamer, Police Chief Grayson Ward has feeling towards Meredith leaving him exposed and vulnerable……and the story goes on…..

This second installment follows in the same tone and same concept has its predecessor. This time it focusses on Meredith and Grayson and to support them recurring characters from previous stories. “Break My fall” has its excitement especially when our heroes were confronted by the bad guys. There were a few in the neighboring town out to get Meredith. But she shows guts and genuinely cares for her patients and will go to no end to help. The side kick Grayson is a sweetheart, a man with a broken heart but cares deeply for Meredith but to scare to let his feelings known…I felt like shaking both…Get on with it. Of course, we had the expected play between them…definitely not X-rated ones.

This is a quick read, interesting in many ways and captivating in others. The style is clean and well-said no words out of place and one that says a lot yet fast to forget.

I like this latest I hope you enjoy it also.

I received this ARC from the publisher Revell via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it

"Silent as the Grave", by Rhys Bowen

A Molly Murphy Mystery #21

In a few words:

Molly’s daughter Birdie is asked to replace a lead female in D.W. Griffith’s latest film. Everything goes smoothly till Birdie nearly dies while filming a dangerous stunt. To Molly something is not right and decides to jump back into PI work and go undercover on the set to figure out who may be behind all this brouhaha…..

My thoughts:

From time to time, I like to pick up an engaging mystery full of vibrant historical details. The magic of New York City in 1909 and the growing film industry should have made an interesting read. But the authors were not that convincing evoking the period, less so when it came to real-life figures (Griffith and Thomas Edison). I thought they were more comical characters that visionaries and inventors but that is me you may think differently. As for the tempo, it drags a little too much for my taste, at times I had some difficulty staying in tune with Molly escapade my mind wandering too much…maybe I was somewhat bored.

Even if this latest is not my preferred installment in this series I will admit this story is a satisfying domestic mystery even with all its predictability and its silly moments.

I received this ARC from St-Martin’s Press via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it