Tahoe Hit by Todd Borg

Murders occurring by use of a dart filled with etorphine - a substance that is used to tranquilize animals but instantly deadly to humans.

Two high-profile millionaires that were college friends and co-workers of Carston Kraytower, a hedge fund millionaire himself, were murdered and the deaths were made to look like they were heart attacks.

Owen McKenna resident investigator comes on the scene with Spot, Street, and Blondie to find clues, but Owen finds more than clues.  Always nice to visit with these familiar, lovable characters.

Owen finds Carston’s son who is mostly an introvert and who confesses that there are family secrets, but won’t reveal them.

TAHOE HIT is another tension-filled, signature Todd Borg book with twists, turns, and surprises with some Shakespeare added in for fun this time.

Mr. Borg’s books have familiar characters, but they always seem to have unfamiliar, but interesting topics that introduce the reader to something not well known or in this case something that brought together a clever story line.

TAHOE HIT will keep you turning the pages and at times have you biting your nails as Owen puts himself in danger but solves yet another mystery.

Even though the book got a bit wordy at times, this book is another “hit” by master storyteller Todd Borg.  4/5

If you haven't met Todd Borg's wonderful characters and books yet, why not get started on them.  They can be read as stand alones.

This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney

How could being a good samaritan and checking on your neighbor turn into a disaster even though Helen was used to being helpful as well as having disasters in her life?

Helen didn't hear from her neighbor Dom which was unusual since he texted her every morning to let her know he was ok.

Today when she checked on him, he wasn't there, but then she found a secret door between his garage and the other neighbor.

Finding that door was a big mistake...it led to finding something she didn't want to be involved in and something she never knew was going on in her quiet retirement community.  

She also should have never mentioned what she found to her nephew who actually got her in a predicament that “blew up” because he posted it on social media.

If that wasn’t enough trouble for her....her neighbor’s nephew was murdered.

BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN pulled me in because of Helen.

I really liked Helen and felt sorry for her especially since her secrets might get out after all of these years and because she had a terrible childhood filled with guilt and bad memories.  

That's why she created another persona in the first place....she used to be Clemmie.  She had to hide her secrets and her past.

The story line flowed beautifully, and this book is filled with regrets, lovable, quirky retired characters, fun, and a murder to solve. It is difficult to figure out who the murderer is because it could be any number of people.

If you need something different as well as enjoyable, BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN should be your next read because you never know what goes on in a retirement community. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Shadow and Light by Carol Halik Koris

If Maggie wouldn't have been in her dark room, could she have prevented the accident that took her daughter's life?

Maggie is a photographer and in deep depression since her daughter's death which she blames on herself.

To cope with her loss, she goes to rest stops on the Florida Turnpike and takes photos of families.

A photo she had taken one day could be something that may help or hinder a family whose daughter was kidnapped.  Could this really be the same girl? No one believes her.

Maggie had an obsession about the girl who had been kidnapped and insisted that it was her and that she needed to help find her.  

Ms. Koris's writing is pull-you-in and enjoyable even though the book's content is heartbreaking.  You can feel Maggie’s gut wrenching pain as she grieves.  You can also feel her husband’s frustration as he tries to help her cope.

Along with the grief we have a mystery to solve and another decision for Maggie to make.  Whose story should she believe about the kidnapping? 

SHADOW AND LIGHT is very well written with a high level of interest because of the subject matter and the author's writing style.

SHADOW AND LIGHT has an excellent twist that took the theme from domestic problems and loss to suspense.

It is an excellent book for those who enjoy mystery and those who enjoy twists and turns.

You will need some tissues for the tender and sad moments that happen. 5/5

This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

This Week At Silver's Reviews - 9/12 - 9/17

 

Lots of reviews this week!! 

I hope to see you.

Titles That Begin With "F"

 

Thank you to eggs of Litsy:

#FALLFINDS

@eggs

Today’s Prompt:  TITLES THAT BEGIN WITH “F”

Looks like my prompt could also have been books with FLIGHT in the title.   

Not sure how that happened.

Please share some titles that begin with the letter “F.”

All of these titles are reviewed on my blog.

Spotlight of The Mourning Report by Caitlin Garvey

                                   

PHOTO SOURCE:
TYPORAMA 
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THE MOURNING REPORT

BY CAITLIN GARVEY

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Information in this post is courtesy of Rachel Palmer of Mindbuck Media.

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Debut author Caitlin Garvey’s memoir, The Mourning Report is out on October 6th. 

Two years after her mother’s death from breast cancer, Caitlin, then 20 years old, was admitted to a psychiatric facility after a suicide attempt. In the wake of this enormous loss, Caitlin questions her religion, comes to terms with her sexuality, and searches for a way to live with severe depression and anxiety. 

Filled with imagery, vulnerability and depth, the succinct memoir honestly and gracefully unpacks a trifecta of trauma.

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ADVANCED PRAISE:

“Titled a report—sly and straightforward in its nomenclature—Caitlin Garvey's memoir is also a testimony. It attests to grief as a veil, and to the ravages of loss. At eighteen, Garvey lost her mother and subsequently herself. With candor and vulnerability, she writes to retrieve the Lost Child she's become. The result is a book of heartrending tenderness.”
—Peggy Shinner, author of You Feel So Mortal

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

I think I would rather be one of those ice-road truckers, performing under life-threatening physical conditions and measuring success through survival, than have a career as a hospice nurse. I’d rather experience the cold highway hypnosis of the Arctic Circle, trucking my heavy cargo over a thin layer of ice that was never meant to be a road, than stand near the bed, with all those tubes in that master bedroom when the wife’s face distorts from horror as she holds her husband’s hand and realizes, for the first time in her life, what it means for a body to grow cold.

Years later, unable to come to terms with her mother’s death, Caitlin decides to embark on a “grief journey,” interviewing the people involved in her mother’s dying process: a hospice nurse, a priest, an estate planner, a hairstylist, and a funeral director. 

If she figures out how they could function after being so close to her mother’s death, then maybe she can learn how to navigate her own life. 

Each chapter of The Mourning Report is centered on each interview and the memories, anxieties, and reflections that is stimulated. It asks what it means to “move on.

Garvey captures the story of her mother’s life by weaving together the oral history of those that knew her at the end. That is the situation, the story is Garvey’s journey as she searches for meaning and self acceptance. 

The Mourning Report is an incisive and emotional look into the truth of what is left behind after loss.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Caitlin Garvey is a Chicago-based writer and English professor. She has an MFA from Northwestern University and an MA in English Literature from DePaul University. Her nonfiction has been nominated for multiple awards, including The Pushcart Prize.

PROMPT: FOREST GREEN COVER

Thank you to eggs of Litsy:

#FALLFINDS

@eggs

Today’s Prompt:  FOREST GREEN COVER

France, wine, WWII, present day, and love - all of this wrapped into one amazing, difficult-to-put-down read.

Ms. Harmel weaved a beautiful tale filled with authentic characters and a story line that kept me turning the pages to learn more as well as cry with the characters.

FULL REVIEW HERE.