"The Last Bridge Across Mostar", by Jeana Kendrick

1992: war-torn Bosnia

This recreation of what life could have been during this grueling time is brought to us through the eyes of American Katrina Winslow who is accused of spying and had to risk her life to protect war orphans caught in the crossfire as the Serbians plot to destroy Mostar. While Croatian Captain Lucien Brezac helps Katerina to save the innocent. Their story is heart-pounding......

What a thrilling novel that tells us the experience in the Balkans. It may be a fiction but the events are historic. This well-written story places us front and center in the conflicts of several Yugoslavian republics. The prose brings to life the terrifying realities of war as Katerina and Lucien navigate the treacherous web of intrigue and violence. Flipping the pages rapidly to see if they will succeed in the quest to save the children and Mostar from destruction couldn’t have been done fast enough. This is one exciting journey that smoothly sails from the beginning till its closing chapter. Embarking on a journey of love and survival with Katerina and Lucien was a chilling experience and a hard one to fathom.

As the story navigates through unknown regions it was quite challenging to follow I wished I had a map in front of me I really couldn’t visualize where I was and who were all those characters one I definitely remember Slobodan Milosevic.. We come across a lot of characters to keep track of, so pay attention or you will have to reread some parts as I did.

The varied reasons for the country’s breakup ranged from the cultural and religious divisions between the ethnic groups this story does an excellent job highlighting this fact. You will come across a lot of praying, I guess being in their shoes I would have perhaps done the same...

No doubt this is a difficult read but so is war. The author tells us that she took liberty in the timing and events for the sake of the narrative and all inaccuracy is on her. After all this book is a fiction not a dissertation and we should take it as such.

My thanks to the publisher for giving me the privilege to review this story.

"Diamond Cut", by Thomas B. Cavanagh

What a gem of a story I has a hard time putting it down. This story is so captivating that time simply past by in a jiffy. In simple words I loved it from the opening page till the final one.

Sandy Corrigan used to be called Diamond when she was an escort spending time in hotel rooms catering to unfaithful men until she escaped and left her old life behind...so she thought. Till one day a girl from her past reappears and asks Sandy to investigate the disappearance of a young girl....Sandy finds herself back into a web of corruption, sex, evil pimps and murder.....and us as reader into one of those exciting drama.

Rooting for Sandy was easy for me. “Go girl you got this” This newly minted P.I. had such a checkered past and used it to her advantage to pursuit her goal and brought us deep into a world that is as corrupt and as dangerous one can imagine. The pacing is rapid till the very end and is written with a solid understanding of human trafficking and the sinister side few have ever seen. This multi-layers story involving a call girl who seeks justice for sex trade workers is one of the best I have read. The story is told from the main character’s perspective and oozes with suspense, it is brilliantly said. From the first page Sandy’s character shines.

“Diamond Cut” focusses on real-life tragedies: human trafficking and contemporary slavery.

Well said- and well done.

I received a copy of this book from the Oceanview Publishing for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

"Sea to Sky", by R.E. Donald

Hunter Rayne Highway Mystery book #3

Former homicide detective hunter Rayne finds himself the prime suspect in the RCMP’s hunt for “The Chairlift Killer” what a way to spoil his weekend at Whistler and putting a lid on a potential romance. He has no choice but to get involved in order to clear his name.

The believable and interesting plot aids the story to move along well enough to hold attention till the last page. Of course this is a relaxed and cozy read with some rough patches. After all, the entire story is about a murder investigation leaving Hunter relationship on hold. It is easy to get irritated with him and how he interacts with the opposite sex at times but what woman does not love a tall silent type persona, he surely fits the profile. There were odd bits of dialogue and some funny moments to make us smile but not much is really exciting or even captivating.

Although this is a well-written book with pretty good characters “Sea to Sky” brings nothing new to the genre. Hunter now a truck driver will always be a RCMP at heart and “will uphold the right and always get his man” (official motto of the RCMP)

Enjoyable story that works well as a stand-alone.