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London, 1817. A city teeming with life, yet lacking a professional police force. When a wealthy young woman is brutally murdered in an alley frequented by prostitutes, a shadowy government bureau in Whitehall dispatches its "special emissary"―Captain Winter. A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars and a gentleman forged by chance and conflict, Winter is uniquely equipped to navigate the treacherous currents of London society, from aristocratic drawing rooms to the city's grimmest taverns.
Without an army of officers or the aid of forensic science, Winter must rely on his wits and a network of unconventional allies. His childhood friend, a nobleman, opens doors in high society, while a wise Jewish physician uncovers secrets the dead cannot hide.
But Winter's most intriguing, and potentially dangerous, asset is Barbara Lightwood. Shrewd, beautiful, and operating as a discreet intermediary among the elite, Barbara shares a past with Winter from the war years. Their rekindled affair is fraught with wariness; she offers intimate information crucial to his investigation, but guards her own secrets fiercely. Like Winter, she is both cunning and capable of danger.
From grand houses to dimly lit streets, death stalks Captain Winter. He must tread carefully to unmask a killer, navigate a web of secrets and lies, and perhaps, in the process, save his own soul.
Book Details:
Genre: Historical Mystery
Published by: Histria Books
Planned Publication Date: January 20, 2026
Number of Pages: 300
ISBN: 978-1592116898
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads
R.J. Koreto is the author of the Historic Home mystery series, set in modern New York City; the Lady Frances Ffolkes mystery series, set in Edwardian England; and the Alice Roosevelt mystery series, set in turn-of-the-century New York. His short stories have been published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, as well as various anthologies.
Most recently, he is the author of "Winter's Season," which takes place on the dark streets and glittering ballrooms of Regency-era London.
In his day job, he works as a business and financial journalist. Over the years, he’s been a magazine writer and editor, website manager, PR consultant, book author, and seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Like his heroine, Lady Frances Ffolkes, he’s a graduate of Vassar College.
He and his wife have two grown daughters, and divide their time between Paris and Martha’s Vineyard.
www.RJKoreto.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram - @rjkoreto
Threads - @rjkoreto
Facebook - @rjkoreto
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Questions surrounding the origins of the universe and the accuracy of biblical accounts place science at the forefront of discussions between atheists and Christians alike. Believers criticize the natural sciences as untrustworthy or even as an enemy of faith, while atheists reprimand Christians for denying empirical facts of nature. Is it possible to rightly love both God and science?
In this concise book, author Hans Madueme offers a biblically informed perspective on science, helping readers embrace both faith and science in a responsible and God-glorifying way. Does Science Make God Irrelevant? addresses misconceptions, explains how Christian assumptions make science possible, clarifies the tension between science and miracles, and illustrates ways faith and science can coexist as allies. In turn, readers will see how good science glorifies God and helps us praise our Creator.
This is a small book so it is not going to go deeply into the issue. It is a good introduction, however. Madueme has good insights into the ways to address perceived conflicts between science and faith. He clarifies misunderstandings, such as how the popular idea of The Scopes Trial does not represent the actual events. He explores the idea of scientific truth and how it changes with continued experiments. He has positive comments on the anthropic principle, that our earth is particularly situated for life. I like how he points out the difference between science and scientism.
This is not an extensive book on the topic. It is a good beginning point for one who loves Jesus and also loves science. It is also a good book with which to begin a dialogue on the topic.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)
Samantha Decker lived a hurried life. Swimming in chaos with a never-ending to-do list, she experienced the fatigue and desperation of rushing from one thing to another. But, amidst her chaos and fruitless efforts to do and be everything, the Lord gently met her. He invited her to slow down and experience His created design for rest.
In Unhurried, we will explore our busy, hurried lives and discover how we can experience the joy of slowing down. We will learn more about margin—what is it, how did Jesus create it, and how can we follow Him? Through the Lord’s guidance and grace, Samantha also shows us how to make time for eternal realities.
This book is an invitation to rest, create space, and join God in the work He’s doing.
This is the story of a God who knows how to rest. A God who has everything under control. A God who gave His only Son to save us from our sins and the bondage they bring. In Christ, there is freedom from striving, busyness, and hurry. Are you ready to take off these weights and follow Jesus?
Decker does a good job of taking us through the problem of hurry. She helps us learn how to create margin so when God speaks to us we can be available. She identifies our desire for control. “Margin, at its core, involves conceding control.” (141) She explores how God might use us when we give Him the opportunity to talk to us and we actually listen. She writes about abiding. “Abiding is the decision to remain so in tune with the Spirit that everything else pales in comparison." (82) She gives practical suggestions on topics like solitude and making decisions.
This is a good book for Christians who want to learn how to live in the presence of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There are good questions at the end of each chapter for personal reflection or for use in a group study. I recommend this book to those desiring to be attentive to the presence of the Lord and his guidance.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)
This is the first novel in a new series and the very first I have read from this author. It begins with action and doesn't let up. Tayla is a good heroine. She is willing to travel to find her uncle and is not hesitant to get in harm's way when it will help protect him. Jason is a good hero. He is part of a tough security team but has a soft heart. Both of them have had past tragedy they need to overcome to respond to a potential romance. There is a good faith element to see them through their issues.
The tropical setting is quite interesting. That it is a non-extradition country makes for many bad guys on the scene. Jason and Tayla must stay alive with more than one villain after them. There is a twist in the character structure so one of the potential villains was a surprise. The plot gets wrapped up a little too quickly and easily for what I thought was reasonable.
I like this novel, my first from this author. We are introduced to a few interesting people who work for this security company so I am sure there will be additional novels featuring them. I'll be looking for the sequel.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
I am humbled and thrilled to have the opportunity to write and share stories with others.
Stories are powerful. Our hearts, minds and souls grow when we journey with characters through their struggles, doubts, triumphs and happy endings. The Christian Romantic Suspense genre is my personal favorite because it tests and grows the characters' faith in God through heart-pounding danger and the fears and joys of sweet romance - ALWAYS leading to a happy ending.
I live in College Station, Texas with my husband, our two sons, and our dog, Radar.
Connect with me at stacyangellcurtis.com.
Joy Print Press, 369 pages.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through BookSirens. My comments are an independent and honest review.
(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)
When a psychiatric clinic assistant turns up dead, Dr. Leslie Schoen finds herself a suspect in the case—and facing allegations which could destroy her career.
As Detective Davis works the investigation, Leslie launches her own inquiries. She soon uncovers deception and illegal schemes involving stolen prescription opioids at her clinic. It seems everyone around her is hiding something, and as she gets closer to the truth, the threats against her escalate. She struggles with keeping dangerous information from her pregnant wife, Izzy, and knows she needs to confront traumatic demons from her own past. But as she delves deeper into a web of lies, one thing becomes clear: someone will do anything to keep their criminal plans in the shadows.
With her family and even her life on the line, Leslie must outwit those who want her silenced before it’s too late. No one’s motives are what they seem, and the killer may be closer than anyone thinks.
This is a different kind of psychological thriller. Desch includes a great deal about the background and the relationships of doctors and support personnel that make up a psychiatric practice. We read about all of the office drama going on. There was also quite a bit of information about appointment and billing procedures for such a practice, most of it going right over my head. Desch included even more relationship drama, that between Leslie, one of the doctors and her wife. There was a murder, however, and a good dose of suspense near the end.
This is a debut effort and I liked it. There were a few issues, like some over description and the naming of doctor characters Schoen and Sloan. (Such similar sounding names for two different characters was quite confusing.) It was a bit disconcerting to read about the backgrounds of the psychiatrists, such as Leslie being a recovered alcoholic. I guess I thought people in such a profession would have it all together, so to speak. But Desch would know, having been a psychiatrist.
This is a good book for readers who like a focus on relationships more than the procedure of solving the mystery. I think Desch will only get better in her writing so I will be looking for more from her.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
Book Details:
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Medical Thriller, LGBTQ + Mystery
Published by: Rowan Prose Publishing
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9798227130914
Book Links: Amazon | Kobo | Apple | BookBub | Goodreads | Books2Read
Leslie Schoen glanced at her desk clock for the umpteenth time in an hour—five minutes had vanished since her last check. Izzy should have called by now. If time had to drag, at least she was waiting in a cozy, lived-in room. Stacks of medical books, journals, and files insulated her downtown Portland clinic office from the outside world. The early twentieth-century building held high ceilings and finished wood floors. Art and her credentials covered the walls. She easily connected with clients face-to-face from her little nook—settled behind the desk with an open side extension facing the room. The cherry furniture complemented the floor and its oriental rug. Floor lamps and spacious windows provided end-of-day light, and comfortable leather chairs added to the room’s warmth.
With all appointments completed and phone calls returned, Leslie stared at her mobile, willing it to ring. She fed her day’s schedule through the shredder under her desk, noticing her inbox sat empty for once in a long while. Her eyes took in a neatly organized desk. The day’s appointments passed quickly. As a psychiatrist, she juggled mundane paperwork and intense personal connections. Whether managing prescriptions or leading an emotional therapy session, her job was never dull.
The phone rang as she rose for a view from her streetside window.
At last. “Hey, hon, what’s happened?” She sat again.
“I have the best news,” Izzy spoke in a hush. “I’m still in the exam room. The doctor’s coming back any minute.”
“What news?” Her heart skipped a beat.
“I’m pregnant.”
She sat forward in her chair, glued to the edge, as shock rippled through her limbs like a charge of electricity. A new reality formed in her mind: motherhood before forty—she’d just make it. “Oh. My. God.”
Izzy’s breathing punctuated the sudden quiet between them.
Leslie sprang to her feet. “Wait. I’m closing the door.” Damon materialized just as she stepped toward the doorway. His sharp-angled cheekbones, dark circles under his eyes, and overgrown curly black hair made him look tired and thin, older than his thirty-two years. She pressed her phone to her chest to cover the microphone.
“You heading out soon?” He extended a handful of envelopes.
“On the phone. It’ll be a while.” She accepted her mail and closed the door. “Izzy?”
“I’m here. They’re getting info about our next steps, reminding me of all the other times. I keep running through our false starts while I’m waiting.”
Their last pregnancy flashed through Leslie’s mind like an old-fashioned horror story. “What about the labs? The blood test?”
“This time, I hope it’s different.” Izzy paced her words. “But the number is sky-high. It’s a definite positive, along with my exam.”
“Oh, sweetheart, we did it!” She harnessed her energy by walking back and forth. “How are you? Tell me everything the OB said.”
“Hold on.” Izzy sounded out of breath. A door closed in the background. “Gotta go! I’ll tell you all the details at home.”
Leslie’s face relaxed as Izzy’s enthusiasm swept through her. She snatched her coat, reflecting on the challenges fertility treatment dwarfed: all she’d endured to get and keep her Oregon medical license, finish psychiatric training, and start her practice.
She grabbed her purse and noticed a Personal and Confidential envelope from her licensing board among her tossed mail. Tearing it open, she read the opening line with confusion before starting again.
You are hereby notified that the Oregon Medical Board has opened an investigation into your potential misuse of the patient sample medication: buprenorphine and/or Suboxone (the combination drug with buprenorphine).
She didn’t prescribe Suboxone.
Her hands shook as she read the letter for the second time and grasped the allegation—that she had swiped controlled drugs. Potentially addictive drugs. The board’s assertion baffled her. Where would she even access Suboxone—the potent opiate buprenorphine, a DEA Class III with serious abuse potential and street value? The allegation made no sense.
“Really? Who would do this?” Images of Bryce invaded her mind—her officemate whose addiction treatment program dispensed Suboxone samples. She considered Michelle, their nurse—eccentric perhaps, but her unwavering commitment to patients was clear. And Sloan worked longer hours than any psychologist she’d encountered, his office well-worn after decades of service. She reread the letter, her gut seeping dread.
The complainant is, at this time, unnamed in our investigation. Your written response, required within fourteen days, will precede a formal interview. Potential consequences of failure to respond include, but are not limited to, suspension of your medical license.
Leslie threw the notice—the lie—back onto her tidy desk. This inquiry would stress her family just as she and Izzy reached for their dream—the pregnancy. Was it a mistake? Samples placed in the main sample closet instead of Bryce’s private safe?
After three years, she knew her handful of coworkers well. Despite sharing Bryce’s lease and renting his employees’ services, she intentionally kept her practice separate from his. If narcotics truly had vanished—if this wasn’t merely an administrative mix-up—the allegation must’ve been instigated by someone in his practice.
Was this payback? No doubt, Bryce’s attitude toward her had soured since she questioned his billing practices after their office manager left.
Leslie glanced at her closed door. Damon worked directly across the hall, but was like the younger brother she had never been given. No chance it was him.
She rose and moved to her far office window, the accusation’s weight pressing against her chest. Taking measured breaths, she tried to focus her scattered mind while overlooking a blustery downtown Portland, Oregon, at dusk. Wind swept the leaves into small, helpless spirals, its faint whirring audible through the glass. While viewing the street from the third story, trees and people walking the sidewalk apace drifted further away like in a murky, surreal dream.
Bryce alone distributed Suboxone samples and other buprenorphine opiates in their office. Had she misjudged when agreeing to share both staff and a lease with an addiction psychiatrist and his rehab team? While her adult psychiatry practice shared similarities, her focus on legally connected mental health cases distinguished her from the group. Remaining outside Bryce’s practice created enough distance. People with opioid addictions dotted her client list too. Still, she rejected his practice of treating opiate addicts with long-term opiates. When tampered with and misused, buprenorphine—bupe for short—was potentially lethal.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the window’s reflection—her long bangs pulled to the side from a casual side part, the sunlit highlights in her chestnut hair dim. She scarcely recognized herself. The board notice drained the color from her face, making her cheekbones and narrowly defined nose stand out starkly. At thirty-nine, this transformation had descended without warning—her brown eyes appearing black above the tight line of her rounded lips.
She hurried back to her desk and texted Bryce, who was lounging somewhere on vacation.
Need a call, must talk.
With a quick sweep, she gathered her laptop case and other belongings for the trip home. As she opened the door, Damon stepped out of the main sample closet at the end of the hall.
“Time for home?” He offered a weary smile.
“Yeah.” Though they’d been on the same team for years, Leslie’s gut said, wait. Did she misread this kid? She hoisted her bags onto her shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Damon’s brows rose as she brushed past him into the hall. He’d always been good at reading her.
Keeping quiet around a once-friendly coworker tested her resolve. She used to find him approachable, but now her wife was the only confidant she craved. Tonight, of all nights, Izzy would be waiting at home, probably wondering what was keeping her.
“I can’t go there right now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Wait.”
She stopped and turned.
“Hey.” His pitch dropped. “You’re worrying me. Did something bad happen?”
Maybe she should have asked him what he knew about opiate sample deliveries, but he looked exhausted, and she needed to collect herself before broaching such a sensitive topic.
“Sorry, I’ve got to go, Damon. Bye.”
***
As Leslie drove through downtown Portland in the six o’clock rush hour, steam rose from manhole covers like apparitions haunting the cracked sidewalks. Homeless tents lined Burnside Street leading to the bridge, markers of lost hope. She recalled a stint with her licensing board a decade earlier. The dump she’d inhabited alone, a barren apartment, matched her emptiness while getting sober under the monitoring program required to keep her medical license. Surviving those first alcohol-free years tested her resolve daily, but meeting Izzy at two years sober multiplied their individual strengths—one plus one became three. Their synergy, connection, and eventually marriage buoyed her through varied, sometimes brutal changes.
Having to bring Izzy this bad news during their pregnancy celebration simply stunk.
As she veered onto Sandy Boulevard, the fading early evening light threw the surrounding trees into an altered dimension. With no reply from Bryce, she turned into a northeast neighborhood and tapped her dashboard for a Bluetooth call.
“Doctor Bryce Nelson. Message at the tone.” Beep.
“Bryce, I need your input on an office situation. Reach me as soon as you can.”
His failure to respond to her text typified Bryce’s recent behavior. Since persuading her to attend rehab for alcoholism years ago, he’d changed so much. Her mind flashed on the moment he convinced her that a life of sobriety was essential if she wanted to keep practicing medicine.
Now, so much more stood on the line. Her expanding family depended on her. This allegation threatened more than just her career. The DEA might investigate her narcotics prescription authority, risking many of the anti-anxiety and insomnia medications she prescribed. At least they wouldn’t impinge on her antidepressant prescriptions. Legal charges? Jail or probation? Loss of her license? Who knew? With her board history, scrutiny would intensify for every practice decision she made. What would the charge do to her relationships with her office clan and her arrangement to share handling after-hours calls with her friend and colleague, Susan Blake?
Her throat tightened as a tear rolled down her cheek, her skin burning underneath. She wiped the droplet away as though denying her tears would deny the fear behind them. Clamping her lips together, the certainty of panic pooled in her limbs, tingling in her fingers. Her vision blurred. She pulled over to a curb just as a flood of emotions—fear, anger, worry, love for her wife, their home, and the life they built together—spilled over into sobs. She leaned against the steering wheel as her shoulders rocked and the tears streamed down at a steady pace. The specter of old demons clamped down on her chest. As her tearfulness waned, she let loose the tension in her hands and shook them.
Remembering others who shared her struggle, Leslie took a deep breath. Izzy and their pregnancy needed her attention. The two of them had already endured so much together. She and Izzy had seen enough loss in the last year to overwhelm a funeral director. Her lawyer would compose and send a response to the board within two weeks. She planned to call him in the morning and sat taller. She reached into her bag for a tissue and told herself to snap out of it.
The mirror reflected a face drained by the emotional blast, but some healthy color had returned to her cheeks. She brushed her hair back to graze her shoulders. This crisis screamed, “Call your AA sponsor,” but the woman left on her honeymoon two days before. In the meantime, Leslie texted another program friend to arrange a call.
***
Excerpt from Tangled Darkness by MM Desch. Copyright 2025 by MM Desch. Reproduced with permission from MM Desch. All rights reserved.
Mary Desch, writing under the pen name MM Desch, brings a wealth of psychiatric expertise to her gripping psychological thrillers. Drawing from her extensive career as a general and addiction psychiatrist across multiple states, she crafts relatable characters facing intense psychological and physical dangers. Her deep understanding of human motivations, conflicts, and trauma recovery infuses her writing with authenticity and suspense.
A lifelong mystery enthusiast, Mary's passion for the genre evolved from childhood fascination with Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine to a deep appreciation for detective fiction in college. This enduring love for suspenseful storytelling naturally led her to write psychological thrillers.
When not delving into the intricacies of her next novel or novella, Mary enjoys hiking, long walks with her wife and their spirited mini schnauzer, exploring local food scenes, golfing, and following women's professional basketball.
Mary's debut thriller, Tangled Darkness, marks the beginning of a promising foray into psychological suspense fiction.
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Make Sense of the Chaos. This Is Your Map to Relevance.
What You’ll Gain After 9 Days:
Rick began in the poverty of a two-bedroom home, with big dreams and low self esteem. Borrowing $1,000 from his Mom he founded and took one business to 400 employees by the time he was 26. He scaled another company into 6 states. At the same time he led a nonprofit expansion into 53 countries and added over a thousand staff. All in his 20’s and 30’s while dealing with personal and health issues. And even with terrorists threatening him. Now in his late 40’s, he advises some of the world’s most powerful families and for the first time reveals his simplified 9 Steps process.
Stop chasing vague happiness and start pursuing unshakable relevance. 9 Steps to Build a Life of Meaning gives you the mental map you've been missing — a bold guide through the fog of distraction, weakness, and regret.
Built for men who want more than motivation, this book fuses timeless wisdom, personal battle stories, and strategic insight into a blueprint for self-development and personal growth. If you're tired of reading self-help books for men that promise quick fixes but deliver nothing lasting, this book delivers something rare: transformation that sticks.
Think Clearly. Act Decisively. Build Relevance.
In a world where confusion is sold as freedom, Rick Walker brings clarity, focus, and fire. These 9 steps sharpen your decision making, amplify your influence, and cultivate an unstoppable mindset. Rooted in real-world leadership and Christian tradition, informed by Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu insight, each chapter is a weapon in the war for meaning.
What You’ll Experience After 9 Days:
A Book Built for Real Men to understand why a man must pick a worthy enemy, why attitudes determine outcomes, and how charismatic, influential leadership begins within.
Walker is described as a philosopher and writes like one. This is not a book where you will find clearly presented action steps. Walker shares the lessons he has learned through experiences and he tells many of those experiences. His steps are presented within the context of story. He has a very imaginative way of communicating, one that I found required concentration to understand what he was saying. He often writes with incomplete sentences and frequently uses flowery language. Here is an example: “What could I learn by blending a drop of courage into a cup of competence?” (3395/4348)
This is a book for readers who would appreciate a round about way of communicating truth. While he draws from a variety of religious disciplines, there is an emphasis on Jesus Christ near the end. There are definitely life lessons to learn by reading this book. It just may take a little more contemplation and thought than one would normally think required in a book of this type.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
I began in the poverty of a two-bedroom home, with big dreams and low self esteem. And curiosity as my lone asset. Borrowing money from my Mom I founded and took one business to 400 employees by the time I was 26. I built another company into 6 states. At the same time I led a nonprofit expansion into 53 countries and added over a thousand staff. All in my 20’s and 30’s.
On the tough outside, I’m a shoot first, ask questions later type of guy. But inside, I still feel that imposter syndrome of a little boy growing up without any hope.
Others explain my work clearer. Former Secretary of HUD, Dr. Ben Carson, calls my writing “profound, refreshing.” Famed podcaster and pastor Paul VanderKlay says I’m “a doer, not a pontificator.” Navy SEAL and US Congressman Dan Crenshaw says I am “a leader and a truth-teller… a businessman, yes, but also a philosopher and a scholar…someone who has actually bothered to think original thoughts, a rarity in today’s literature.”
But more than that, I’m a man who’s been plunged into a life of love. A truer life than all the fleeting promises of competency, fame, and wealth. An existence richer than the circumstances of my past. Based on a search for higher wisdom, rather than living to selfishly serve my own future.
For years the world’s elite have asked me to begin putting some structure around how I think and live. To communicate the key steps from zero to meaning-filled living. So from their encouragement, and my desire to help others, I have documented the steps, self-improvement tools, and life turnaround principles which have brought me and countless others out of our deepest struggles and into a life of meaning. Now it’s your turn.
(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)
Author: Robin Patchen
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense
Release Date: June 24, 2025
In a town shrouded by secrets, a photographer and the reclusive heir of the Ballentine fortune join forces to unravel a deadly conspiracy.
Brooklynn Wright must win a photography contest to save her gallery, and the perfect sunrise shot at a remote inlet north of town is her best hope. But when she witnesses a smuggling operation at a hidden dock and is chased by armed men, her dreams of artistic glory become a nightmare flight for survival. Rescued by a mysterious stranger, Brooklynn is forced to take refuge with him in an abandoned mansion the townspeople claim is cursed—afraid to trust her grumpy protector but with no other choice.
Billionaire Forbes Ballentine returned to Shadow Cove for answers, not distractions. Haunted by the unsolved murder of his family twenty years ago, he’s spent his life in the shadows, hunting for the truth. He believes the network Brooklynn stumbled upon is tied to his family’s deaths, but protecting the cheerful photographer means jeopardizing the investigation he’s been chasing for decades. Especially when her presence stirs feelings he’s not prepared to face.
As Brooklynn and Forbes grow closer, so do the network’s ruthless enforcers. With everyone in town hiding something, they must navigate lies, betrayal, and deadly truths. When the network closes in, they’ll have to trust each other completely—or lose everything.
Dive into this gripping romantic suspense full of mystery, secrets, and danger, where two broken souls must uncover the truth while battling the enemies outside—and the wounds within.
Click here to get your copy!
This is another entertaining inspirational romantic suspense from Patchen. While the suspense is periodic, there is always the threat of it hanging in the air. The plot is a bit complex with the hero, Forbes, trying to solve the decades old murder of his parents. His character was rather elusive as he is trying to keep people from knowing who he really is. He is quiet about himself until quite a ways into the novel. Brooklyn sort of stumbles into the suspense by being in the wrong place at the right time. She is a well presented and delightful character. She and Forbes spend a great deal of time together and much of the narrative consists of their thoughts on solving the mystery and increasingly on their relationship as a romance develops.
The suspenseful end to the novel happens quickly with a surprise twist or two near the end. This is a good novel for readers who like more character thought than action moving the plot forward. It is part of a series yet reads well on its own. Each novel in the series features a different family member. While some of them are mentioned in this novel, knowing their characters is not essential to appreciating this one.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
You can read my reviews of a couple of the earlier novels in the series, Sheltering You and Protecting You.
A Mansion on the Maine Coast: The Perfect Setting for Capturing You
There’s something about old mansions that gets my imagination racing. Maybe it’s the grandeur, or the hint that secrets hide behind their towering windows. Or maybe it’s knowing that, once upon a time, entire lives were lived there.
When I first envisioned Capturing You, I knew the story needed a setting as breathtaking—and as mysterious—as the characters themselves. So I plucked inspiration from my visits to the coast of New Hampshire. I can’t help but admire the stunning mansions overlooking the Atlantic between Hampton Beach—a touristy strip filled with arcades and restaurants—and Rye, a quiet coastal community. I love to imagine the lives lived inside those walls and the histories written into their very foundations.
Naturally, when it came time to write Brooklynn and Forbes’s story, I borrowed from those daydreams.
In Capturing You, the eighteenth-century cliffside mansion functions as more than just a setting. It’s a character in its own right. Crumbling a bit with age, it stands guard over a small, secluded cove on the coast of Maine. The old home is a place of secret hiding places, bittersweet memories, and…because, you know, it’s a Robin Patchen novel…more than its share of danger. The Ballentine Mansion is the perfect backdrop for a story about a photographer who accidentally stumbles onto something she shouldn’t have seen—and a brooding recluse determined to keep her safe.
In the story, I hope you hear the waves pounding against the rocky shore, smell the salt in the air, and feel the ancient wood floors creaking beneath your feet. I hope you’ll find wonder in the whimsical spaces created by the original architect. And I hope you’ll experience nostalgia in a home that hasn’t had a family fill its halls with laughter in a generation.
Step right into that world with me—a world of danger and romance, courage and redemption, all wrapped up in a mansion that’s seen more than its share of joy and heartache. And maybe a little healing too.
I can’t wait for you to explore all its secrets with Brooklynn and Forbes.
Capturing You is available now. Immerse yourself in a fascinating mansion—and a suspenseful romance that’ll keep you reading all night long.
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 1
Pens Pages & Pulses, July 1
For Him and My Family, July 2
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 3
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 4
Texas Book-aholic, July 5
Stories By Gina, July 6 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, July 6
Book Looks by Lisa, July 7
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 8
Blogging with Carol, July 9
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 10
Life on Chickadee Lane, July 11
Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, July 12
Holly’s Book Corner, July 13
A Good Book and Cup of Tea, July 13
Pause for Tales, July 14
To celebrate her tour, Robin is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of Protecting You!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54253
(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)
