"The Physician of Nineveh", by Glenn Cooper

If you like sweeping historical fiction with a dash of fantasy, a bit of romance and some mystery elements, this book is for you.

“The Physician of Nineveh “offers a premise both intriguing and somewhat absurd and give us the thrill of buried mysteries rather than hard science or action.

We have the story of a royal physician, Mannu-ki-Ashur, from the 7Th century BCE who time-cross into modern-day London in search of a cure for his dying love. In London he walks into Dr. Kate Mayne life, an Assyriologist expert in the secrets of ancient Mesopotamia, claiming to be from Niveneh.

The story goes back and forth between the two-time lines and is easy to follow. The written style is smooth and is richly imagined and laced with ancient secrets and a touch of the impossible. As for the time travel element, it’s simply a convenient device for effect. I didn’t think I would be so taken with this story but I simply loved it. I was easily transported to another time, another world and into a strange but charming story.

In a few words:

Absolutely an enchanting and magical story I enjoyed very much.

Well-said and well-done

My thanks to Book Whisperer and Netgalleys for this ARC

"6:40 to Montreal", by Eva Jurczyk

Agatha Christie, meet Eva Jurczyk.

Agatha, a writer with a huge inspiration block needs to step back from her daily life: away from her husband and son and meet a friend in Montreal. She boarded the 6:40 Via Rail passenger train on time. Now on her way to what is expected a 5 hours ride but the weather had other intent…a raging snow storm soon engulfed the travellers. Unlucky, the train breaks down pushing Agatha’s plans in question.…. Then the unthinkable happens, a passenger is found dead….setting chaos in motion throughout the car.

I think the whole premise was ridiculous and unbelievable. The way the man was murdered and how the aftermath developed was insane. We have multiple characters: the car attendant responsibilities are to provide service and attend to passengers’ comfort Dorcas was at total lost when the train and communication stopped. Finch was the poor soul who was bitten by a spider and died, Jeff an elderly man was stupid enough to leave the security of the train by breaking a window (windows have latches) to wander in an unknown field in a snow storm ( no sane Canadian would do that). Then you have a mother and son so messed up it was laughable. To put the sherry on the Sunday, a woman with an axe to grind against Agatha had her day….

15 hours later they made it to Kingston 289 km from destination… boy I will pass on a train ride next time I plan to go to Toronto or back from there.

The flow worked pretty well and kept a steady pace. Although a weird story, it was interesting enough to have kept me captive till the very last page. But to spoil a story give it an iffy ending. It was time to close the book…

I have strong feeling about the characters…none were appealing…Ms Jurczyk populates her narrative with flat characters ….point final.

This is not Agatha Christie “Murder on the Orient Express” far from it.

I received this ARC from Poisoned Penn Press via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

"Nobodies", by Warren Adler and Shannon McKenna

This is a gritty noir crime thriller of deception, revenge and redemption penned by a most prolific authors I had the pleasure to discover a long time ago. “Nobodies” is my 21th book. Unfortunately, Mr. Adler passed away some time back leaving his unfinished manuscript in the hands of Adler Entertainment Trust. Ms. McKenna was tasked to bring it to life by adding her personal touch and did honour to the master by giving us an awesome thriller.

Set in the shadows of New York City, the story has Henry Cody hiding under an assumed name plotting revenge against the people who ruined his life while Amber Wright, a career con artist with a shady past cross’s path with him… their fates are tied …….

Told from different character perspectives and shifting timeframes this story has a cinematic flair to it and is shrewdly done. I admit at first, I was totally lost and thought I wouldn’t enjoy it but lo and behold I found myself suck into the dark world of organized crime and from that point on I had a hard time setting this book aside. The tense atmosphere is masterfully crafted and is filled with murkiness, suspense and many plot twists. We have a perfect balance between the intense action and how the characters pondered the moment. Surprising the story is believable…. even with the tad of humour injected from time to time.

Love them or hate them the characters are richly developed and compelling. This tale of two fugitives who risk everything to take down the corrupt while outrunning their past and save themselves is entertaining and should please most.

My thanks to Book Whisperer for this ARC which I received via Netgalley