Blind Spots - Thomas Mullen

Thomas Mullen is a new to me author. His latest book is Blind Spots.

I was really intrigued by the premise. In the very near future, everyone on the planet goes blind. I love dystopian fiction and I am always fascinated by an author’s world building. Blind Spots opens seven years after 'The Blinding.'

Think about the logistics of society continuing on. And who or what is going to pop up ready to take charge. You got it - it’s not big Pharma but it’s big Tech to the rescue. Most people have jumped on board and wear their "vidder" which interacts directly with the wearer’s brain and allows them to see. But what happens if somebody takes that technology and abuses it? 

Someone does just that and it leave the police department divided. After all - can you really believe what you see?

Blind Spots was almost like two books melded together for me. On one hand, you’ve got the logistics of the tech, those that chose to use it and those who won't. This is the part that really had me thinking. What would life look like? (sorry couldn't help it) I thought the descriptions and scenes that depicted the blind were well done. On the other hand, we've got a murder case that's completely different and our lead is taking two steps forward and one step back in both his personal and professional lives. In this plotline, the amount of detail in identifying someone or something seemed like too much in my opinion. 

Overall, Blind Spots was a truly different listen for me that combined sci-fi, dystopia - and murder. 

I chose to listen to Blind Spots, which seemed apropos! The reader was award winning Gary Tiedemann. He's got a really interesting voice with a little something underneath. His speaking is crisp, clean and easy on the ears. He has interpreted Mullen's book well, hitting all the right places in terms of plot, action and dialogue. He has lots of movement is his narration. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of Blind Spots. 

 

Hang the Moon - Jeannette Walls

If you've not read Jeannette Walls before, you really should. She’s penned a memoir with that is gut-wrenchingly good. But she’s also turned her hand to fiction novels and they're all great reads as well. 

Her latest is Hang the Moon. This new book takes place in the 1920s during the prohibition years in Appalachia Virginia. Walls has woven lots of intriguing fact into her fiction. Some of the characters are also based on historical people.

Our protagonist is young Sallie Kincaid who was born into an influential family. But money can’t keep misfortune from knocking on the door. And in Hang the Moon, it’s pounding the door down.

Walls takes inspiration from her own sense of self and imbues Sallie with an indomitable optimism and drive in the face of hurdle after hurdle. Those trials were probably the hardest thing for me listen to. Women and children are treated as chattel, and they have to accept their place in society. Happily, Sallie just doesn't fit that mold. The male characters are for the most part, full of themselves and their 'rights'. The Duke is especially unlikable.

Hang the Moon is action packed with one calamity running into the next. A wee bit of me thought there were perhaps one too many, edging into over the top territory. But overall, I quite enjoyed the book.

The narrator was....the author herself! It's always a treat when an author reads their work. Walls employs the perfect twang for the locale setting. Her voice is easy on the ears and easy to understand. Sallie's optimism is in the voice time and time again, as is her determination. Walls has created voices for supporting characters that are easily identifiable. I've said it before, but I find I become more immersed in a tale when I listen. This was definitely the case with Hand the Moon. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt.

Hang the Moon - Jeannette Walls

If you've not read Jeannette Walls before, you really should. She’s penned a memoir with that is gut-wrenchingly good. But she’s also turned her hand to fiction novels and they're great reads as well. 

Her latest is Hang the Moon. This new book takes place in the 1920s during the prohibition years in Appalachia Virginia. Walls has woven lots of intriguing fact into her fiction. Some of the characters are also based on historical people.

Our protagonist is young Sallie Kincaid who was born into an influential family. But money can’t keep misfortune from knocking on the door. And in Hang the Moon, it’s pounding the door down.

Walls takes inspiration from her own sense of self and imbues Sallie with an indomitable optimism and drive in the face of hurdle after hurdle. Those trials were probably the hardest thing for me listen to. Women and children are treated as chattel, and they have to accept their place in society. Happily, Sallie just doesn't fit that mold. The male characters are for the most part, full of themselves and their 'rights'. The Duke is especially unlikable.

Hang the Moon is action packed with one calamity running into the next. A wee bit of me thought there were perhaps one too many, edging into over the top territory. But overall, I quite enjoyed the book.

See for yourself - read an excerpt of Hang the Moon.

Countdown - James Patterson and Brendan DuBois

James Patterson's latest collaboration - Countdown - is with Brendan DuBois.

This is a follow up to Out of Sight, featuring Amy Cornwall, but can absolutely be read as a stand alone, as I did.

Amy Cornwall was Army intelligence and she’s now in the CIA doing the same thing. She’s out on a what seems to be a straightforward mission. But, something is just off and - you guessed it - she’s going to follow her intuition. Well, she does and what she finds is a tangled web of deceit, treason, terrorists, and plans for a horrific outcome… 

Amy is a great kick butt female lead. You can’t help but be behind her all the way. She has no idea who to trust. The British agent that says he’ll help her? Her own boss wants her gone. But why? 

Patterson and DuBois have concocted a multi levelled plot that twists and turns many times on the way to the final pages. It really made me wonder about what does go on in the 'alphabet' agencies. 

Over the top you ask? Yes, it was in places, but just go with it, as it makes for a roller coaster of a read. 

Is there going to be another entry in this series? I think there's a chance of that, as Amy has some debts to settle...

See for yourself - read an excerpt of Countdown. 

How I'll Kill You - Ren DeStefanos - Release Day Feature!

Ren DeStefanos's new novel - How I'll Kill You - releases today! 

What's it about you ask? Twin killers? Nope - even better - triplets! Check out the excerpt below.

"If not for my sisters and the tragic circumstances of our upbringing, I would be living an empty life and bound for heartbreak. 

It started when we were nineteen.

 

Iris called me, frantic, in the middle of the night. She had her own apartment above a laundromat in downtown Clovis. She was so proud of that place - all five hundred square feet of it. She kept it tidy and burned incense at all hours to hide the smell from the dumpster in the alley outside her bedroom window. At night, there was the persistent throb of the bar across the street, the music loud enough to rattle the porcelain angel figurines on the shelves. They’d come with the place, and Iris had decided they made her living room look homey - a word she’d never used before, because we’d never had a home.

“Just come,” she’d sobbed and then hung up. All of my calls went straight to voicemail. I sped the whole way over there, sure that someone had just climbed up the fire escape to murder her. But what I found was a different sort of violence.

Blood, deep and dark, pooled on her oriental rug, and splattered across the angel figurines.

She’d been sleeping with her old high school guidance counselor—a fifty-one-year-old married father of two. He strung her along for months, promising to leave his wife. He broke her heart a hundred times, and then Iris plunged a kebab skewer through his.

“You watch all of those crime shows,” Moody said, emerging from the kitchen with a bottle of bleach she’d found under the sink. “Help us make this go away.”

We moved with a practical calm, the three of us, and when it was through, Iris’s ill-fated lover was resting in six garbage bags, wound tightly with duct tape. If it were only one of us, or even two, I’m sure we would have been caught. We would have missed a detail. But we were a perfect team, the three of us. 

After a lifetime of being torn apart, we were finally together, finally able to help one another in all the ways we never could when we were being jostled helplessly by the foster system. All those years of loneliness, of wanting, of being kept apart, had brought us to this desperate moment. Knee-deep in the water of the San Joaquin river in the velvet black night, we weighed the pieces of the man with rocks, and a promise started to form. In the coming days, it slowly became obvious what we needed to do.

We wouldn’t deprive ourselves of love, but our hearts would be weapons. We would love the men we found completely and without inhibition, put a lifetime into our brief time together. Live out every fantasy we desired. And then we would kill them.

There would never be another lover to break one of us. We would break all of them first."

“Excerpted from HOW I’LL KILL YOU by Ren DeStefano published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2023 by Ren DeStefano”

"Ren DeStefano lives in Connecticut, where she was born and raised. When she’s not writing thrillers, she’s listening to true crime podcasts and crocheting way too many blankets."

You can connect with Ren on Instagram

Weyward - Emilia Hart

Oh, look that cover - isn't it gorgeous? Even better is the story that awaits you in Emilia Hart's debut novel, Weyward.

Hart's book unfolds through the narrative of three women over the course of five centuries. In 1619, Altha is on trial for witchcraft. In 1942, Violet is virtually a prisoner in her family's manor house. And in 2019, Kate is on the run from her life in London.

What ties the three together is their family tree and Weyward Cottage. There's more of course, but not all of them are aware yet of their strengths, abilities or what came before. 

Hart tells her story in rotating points of view, often ending at a place I couldn't wait to return to. (Makes for lots of late night reading!) And as those time periods flip, you realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same. 'Nuff said. "The thought sparks fury in her. She's not sure if it's a new feeling, or if it was always there, smothered by fear. But now it burns bright in her blood."

Hart's descriptions of nature are beautiful and remind us to appreciate what grows and lives in a garden. And to take solace and peace from Mother Earth. "For I had begun to suspect that nature, to us, was as much a life force as the very air we breathed." 

Weyward is a brilliant, bewitching debut.  I can't wait to read what Hart writes next. See for yourself - read an excerpt of Weyward.

Stateless - Elizabeth Wein

I was drawn to Elizabeth Wein's new novel - Stateless - by the premise. 

1937. Stella North is the only female pilot to participate in an international plane race called the "Circuit of Nations Olympics of the Air". 

A fairly large number of characters are introduced in the first few chapters of the book. The ten pilots, and the supporting crew.  They're all from different countries, so for me it was a bit of a struggle to remember who was who. Stella is the voice behind the book. There wasn't much of a background provided to the main character, instead we get a sense of her through her flying and her thoughts. But I have to say, that I really never connected with Stella.

The airplane bits were quite knowledgeable and detailed. For this reader, probably too much, as I found myself skimming those bits. I was happy to see the mystery introduced. 

The time frame and the European setting of course addresses the political alliances of the time, the jockeying of countries and the possible of another world war.

So, Stateless has all the pieces that would normally have me stuck in a book for hours. But by about page 150, I felt my attention wandering and my interest flagging. And, yes I made the decision to skip to the final pages to see how things turned out. 

Let's go with the wrong reader for a good book. And split it up the middle, with a solid three.

The London Séance Society - Sarah Penner

Sarah Penner's new novel is The London Séance Society.  I couldn't wait to get started reading!

The London Séance Society takes place in London, England in the 1870's - a time and place I really enjoy. The vehicle for this tale is Spiritualism. Oh yes, there's so many paths this tale could take...

Lenna has come to train with renowned spiritualist Vaudeline in Paris. She is skeptical about the occult and what she really is looking for are clues, reasons and answers about her sister Evie's death. When Vaudeline is asked to perform a séance in London at the prestigious London Séance Society, she brings along Lenna as her apprentice. And this is where things get really interesting...

I applaud Penner's take on spiritualty - she has wonderfully blended fact and fiction together. Could it be true or is it all a fakery? Just as well done is the setting - I could hear the clip clop of a carriage passing, the swish of long skirts and witness 'polite' society and mores of the time. The two lead characters are very well done. They seem to be opposites in temperament, beliefs and goals - one believing  and one questioning, but their relationship changes many time over the course of the book. 

And last, but certainly not least - the mystery of what happened to Evie. There are two voices in the book - that of Lenna and a director of the Societal called Mr. Morley. As readers, we are privy to what each 'side' knows. The whodunit changed many times over the course of the book, keeping me guessing. 

There's danger and action (and a don't go in the basement moment) that had me staying up late reading just one more chapter.

The London Séance Society ticked all the boxes for me. I really enjoyed it! See for yourself - read an excerpt of The London Séance Society

I Will Find You - Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben is hands down, one of my favourite authors. I eagerly await every new book. And then despite my plan to savour it slowly - I end up binge reading late into the night. This latest book, I Will Find You is no exception!

Coben gives us a protagonist who, on first glance, looks like he should be the antagonist. David Burroughs has been in prison for the last five years for killing his three year old son, even though he swears he’s innocent. A chance picture of a boy who looks like young Matthew raises David’s hopes. Could his son be alive? 

I’m always behind a premise like this, where it’s David and Goliath battle. Can an everyday guy beat the odds? Prove his innocence? And in this case, find his son?

The tension starts in the first pages and just never lets up. Prison breaks, gangland bosses, shady wealthy families, old friends and foes, tendrils from the past and more is all woven into a non stop, edge of your seat, heart pounding plot. Did I mention the twisty turns that change the narrative? I was surprised every time!

And I have to mention the dialogue between the two FBI agents. It's a rapid patter that is actually quite funny.

Over the top? A wee bit, but just go with it - it’s such a great read. See for yourself - read an excerpt of I Will Find You.

Coben fans will enjoy the cameo of Hester Crimstein from the Wilde series. I can see this one coming to a screen.

A Man Called Otto - DVD from Sony Home Entertainment

Tom Hanks is one of favourite actors and Fredrick Backman is one of my favourite authors - and  I was really looking forward to viewing A Man Called Otto, based on Backman's book.

The DVD from Sony Home Entertainment is newly released. 

The character of Otto has suffered a great loss. His wife has passed away. She was the light of his life, and he can see no reason to keep on living. He’s busy planning how to end things when a new neighbour knocks on the door at just the right moment… 

Otto is the biggest curmudgeon you’ve ever met. There are rules to be followed, ways of doing things - the right way and idiot is one of his favourite words. Marisol and her boisterous family will change his life...

Tom Hanks is perfect for this role. His facial expressions, his body language, his dialogue and demeanor are perfect for the character of Otto. Mariana Treviño was also wonderful as Marisol. Upbeat, intuitive and determined. She just made me smile! The supporting cast was just as wonderful. Quirky, yet real. And every good tale needs an antagonist - this one is perfectly despicable.  

The movie is told in a now and then timeframe. We get glances and bits of young Otto and can better understand him. Have a tissue or two handy. But be ready to laugh also - there's humour throughout the film as well.

The setting is perfect - a closed private road that has a two sided street with the houses all facing each other. I liked how the 'now and then' of the setting was achieved. 

Often the concern with books going to screen is how true will the film stay to the original?  Personally, I'm not looking for an exact copy of a book. I am happy to discover how a film maker has taken inspiration from a novel and produced their vision. 

Family, loss, grief, joy, friendship and more are some of the themes running through the movie. Me? I really enjoyed this film! See for yourself - watch the official trailer of A Man Named Otto  here.

Don't forget to check out the extras. And here's a fun fact - Tom Hanks' son Truman plays young Otto.

The Magician's Elephant - Kate DiCamillo

Kate DiCamillo is a best selling, award winning children's author who pens the most wonderful books. One of those awesome books is The Magician's Elephant.

"At the end of the century before last, in the market square of the city of Baltese there stood a boy with a hat on his head and a coin in his hand."

But rather than buying the food his guardian has asked him to purchase, ten year old Peter instead spends the coin at the fortuneteller's tent. He needs an answer - where is his younger sister? And the answer? It involves an elephant...

The Magician's Elephant reads like a fairy tale, with all the right ingredients. Once upon a time, magic, problems, journeys, morals and more, all on the way to happily ever after. There's a wonderful otherworldly feel to DiCamillo's prose. The reader can't help be drawn into the tale. There are also some wonderful illustrations from YoKo Tanaka that match the feel and tone of the book. 

While the book is listed as for ages 8-12, I know that adults would enjoy it as well. After all, who doesn't wonder if there's a bit of magic in our world? The Magicians Elephant would also be a great family read and watch!

Read an excerpt here and/or check out the trailer below. Netflix is releasing the animated film on Friday, March 17th. I'll be watching. 

Lessons at the School by the Sea - Jenny Colgan

Lessons at the School by the Sea is the third entry in Jenny Colgan's School by the Sea series. 

Now, a lot of times you can read a series book as a standalone, but I highly recommend you go back and read the first two in this series. They're great reads as well - and you'll what lead to the opening pages. 

Jenny Colgan is one of my favorite authors. Her characters are warm and welcoming and I always feel like I'm catching up with old friends when I pick up the newest book. This latest opens within a minute of the ending of book two. 

Maggie Adair is the English teacher at a girl's boarding school. She's on the train, headed home for her wedding. But....yes, there's a but and the fallout from her decision will affect others as well. 

What's unique about this series is that it has myriad plot lines that include Maggie's teen students, the staff, families and more. Their worries, concerns, troubles, joys, successes and more are all relevant and real. I've become quite invested in their lives. 

The ending is satisfying, and I love that the door is open for the next entry. Colgan says there will be six books in this series. I'll be waiting! See for yourself - read an excerpt of Lessons at the School by the Sea.

A Death at the Party - Amy Stuart

A Death at the Party is Amy Stewart's latest release. This is a standalone book.

I was hooked in the first few pages. The prologue gives us a body in the basement and lots of questions. Curious cat that I am - I needed to know who, why and how.  

The book takes place over 24 hours. Nadine is hosting a 60th birthday party for her mother, a bestselling author. Nadine is a meticulous planner and she wants this party to be perfect,  so nothing can go wrong. But… you just know it’s not going to go smoothly. There are simmering undertones between each and every character, from the immediate family, to the neighbours, work colleagues, acquaintances, clerks and more. These connections are all intricately woven together as the book progresses. 

The tension ratchets up and up with every hour that passes. The compressed timeline heightens everything - actions, emotions and more. We're with with Nadine as she tries desperately to keep all  of her balls in the air. But they start to drop one by one. The fall out is not what I expected at all. I had some inklings that things might be headed in a certain direction, but was happily surprised by the direction Stuart took the tale. 

I thought the mystery of the book was well done. But, just as much of standout for me was the depiction and exploration of Nadine. See for yourself - read an excerpt of A Death at the Party. An easy five stars.

The Golden Spoon - Jessa Maxwell

The Golden Spoon is Jessa Maxwell's brilliantly fun debut novel.

 

Okay, hands up if you binge watch baking competitions. Keep them up if you love murder mysteries, especially the 'locked room' kind. Yes? Then this is the book you need to read next.

Six lucky contestants are at beloved celebrity judge Betsy Martin's grand home. Also on the grounds is the tent where the contest will take place. As readers we're privy to the 'behind the scenes' machinations of making the show and what people are like when the cameras stop rolling. I'll stop there as you can just guess what happens right?

I think because I am one of those binge baking watchers, I conjured up very vivid mental images of  both the set and the participants. Fellow watchers will see that Maxwell has created contestants that mirror real show participants. But what I hadn't imagined was the direction that Maxwell would take with her mystery. Each and every character has something they really don't want to bring to light. Each one of them  have point of view in The Golden Spoon, giving the reader lots of opportunity and information to make a guess as to the 'whodunit'. There's more than one mystery woven into the book - and one in particular had me tearing up.

I was whisked away and bowled over by this debut novel. Absolute cozy fun to read, with an Only Bodies in the Building vibe. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Golden Spoon. 

The Golden Spoon - Jessa Maxwell

The Golden Spoon is Jessa Maxwell's brilliantly fun debut novel.

Okay, hands up if you binge watch baking competitions. Keep them up if you love murder mysteries, especially the 'locked room' kind. Yes? Then this is the book you need to listen to next.

Six lucky contestants are at beloved celebrity judge Betsy Martin's grand home. Also on the grounds is the tent where the contest will take place. As readers we're privy to the 'behind the scenes' machinations of making the show and what people are like when the cameras stop rolling. I'll stop there as you can just guess what happens right?

I think because I am one of those binge baking watchers, I conjured up very vivid mental images of  both the set and the participants. Fellow watchers will see that Maxwell has created contestants that mirror real show participants. But what I hadn't imagined was the direction that Maxwell would take with her mystery. Each and every character has something they really don't want to bring to light. Each one of them  have point of view in The Golden Spoon, giving the reader lots of opportunity and information to make a guess as to the 'whodunit'. There's more than one mystery woven into the book - and one in particular had me tearing up.

I chose to listen to The Golden Spoon. I was so happy to find a full cast of readers. For me, this always makes for a better listening experience. Each reader has created a voice that matches the character they're presenting. Each narrator captured the story with the emotions and actions of the story with their voices. All were easy to understand the pace was perfect. 

I was whisked away and bowled over by this debut novel. Absolute cozy fun to listen to, with an Only Bodies in the Building vibe. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of The Golden Spoon. 

What Have We Done - Alex Finlay

Do you like twisty suspense reads? Yes? Then you need to pick up Alex Finlay's latest book - What Have We Done.

The book opens with a prologue from the past that sets the tone for the rest of the book. Five teen residents of a group home commit a crime that will link them together forever. Twenty five years on, they've all done well for themselves, but don't really keep in touch. Until.....it looks like someone else knows about that night. And they want retribution.

There are multiple points of view in the book. We hear from not just the five, but the ones hunting them down as well. As readers we become privy to information from both sides. The timeline switches from past to present and back again. I enjoy this style of story telling. 

Finlay expertly leads the reader down the garden path and provides lots of red herrings along the way. He also ends many chapters on a suspenseful note, ensuring I needed to just read 'one more chapter' before turning out the lights. Now, about figuring out the whodunit - Finlay is a master of the 'twist'. He caught me off guard many times and with each twist the narrative changed. I love being kept on my toes. 

The action starts in the first chapters and the pace never really eases off. Over the top in places? Absolutely, but it's a heckuva fun read. I could see this tale as an action movie. See for yourself - read an excerpt of What Have We Done. 

( Gentle readers, there are some triggers.)

The Kind Worth Saving - Peter Swanson

The Kind Worth Saving is Peter Swanson's newest novel. It's the second to feature Henry Kimball and Lily Kintner. But this new book can be read as a stand alone.

Henry Kimball has worked as a high school teacher, a cop and now as a private investigator. He's surprised when his new client walks in, as she was one of his students many years ago. What a coincidence...or is it?

Swanson tells this story in two time frames - then and now. I really like this style of storytelling. Each new chapter builds on the last and bleeds into the present. There are a few points of view and they too add details and history from the past to the present. As readers, we can see everything that is going and why. And the why is quite disturbing. We can only hope that Henry can put the pieces together sooner rather than later.  

I like Henry and his way of looking at the world - and his limericks. Lily scares me - she's capable of more than you would imagine. The new client is, well, let's say she's interesting. Swanson's characters are well developed rather than being one dimensional.

Swanson's tale isn't straightforward and I love the twists and turns the plot visits. The ending - and the book title - are quite fitting. 

I enjoyed The Kind Worth Saving. I hope Swanson has planned a third book with Henry - I think he has more to say. Read an excerpt of The Kind Worth Saving.

Murder Your Employer - Rupert Holmes

Oh my gosh! I absolutely loved Rupert Holmes' new book - Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide.

Have you ever worked for an employer that was cruel, mean, thoughtless, sneaky and well, found yourself in a downright untenable situation? Maybe you daydreamed about - you know - getting rid of said boss?

In Murder Your Employer, we meet and follow three people who are thinking about 'deleting' their nemesis. But first they'll have to go through the program at "The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder."

I loved the premise - it's very clever and really well drawn. The classes weren't what I had imagined. Every facet of a possible deletion is covered in the syllabus and a final thesis is a requirement. The description of the classes, the 'games' and more is just so inventive - and quite funny at times.

Now, the three we're following are there for one purpose, but I couldn't think of them as antagonists at all, instead I was firmly behind them. Those three characters are wonderfully drawn and I quite liked each one of them. The 'why' of their situations are slowly revealed as the past is visited. There's a large group of supporting characters, all just as well drawn. The rotating points of view and timelines made for addictive listening.

The premise is brilliant and the plotting is intricate and devious. I absolutely adored it. Murder Your Employer needs to be a movie!

I chose to listen to Murder Your Employer. I was was thrilled to see that award winning Simon Vance was one of two readers. He is hands down one of my favorite narrators. His voice is rich and full with a wonderful accent. He has so much movement in his voice - each and every word is a performance. He captures the emotions of the characters and the actions and plotting of the book. And the second reader is a voice you'll recognize as well - actor Neil Patrick Harris. He too has a wonderful voice and his voice is perfect for the character he presents. He has a very expressive voice. The two together make this a fabulous audio book! Definitely one of my favorites for 2023. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of Murder Your Employer.

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall - Katie Lumsden

There is no better book to read on a dull and rainy day, than a Gothic mystery. The weather in my part of the world was the backdrop on a wet Sunday for Katie Lumsden's debut novel, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall. The cover and title promised the perfect tale. 

What makes this genre such a favorite of mine? Well let me tell you... it's the historical time frame, the run down manor, the village nearby and it's refusal to have anything to do with the manor and it's inhabitants, the whisper of ghosts, the knock in the night, the mixed personalities of the staff, including the handsome gardener, the mystery that surround the Lady of the manor and her son and last but not least the new addition to the manor - a recently widowed governess. Oh - and secrets - lots of secrets!

Katie Lumsden's book is set in 1852. She has captured the social strata, manners and mores of the time period. Her descriptions of the setting(s) are rich in detail and provided strong mental pictures for me. The cast of characters is perfect and I really liked Margaret as a lead character. She isn't one to accept all of those rules and expected behaviors. Hers is the only point of view. Lumsden has taken all of those facets I look forward to and added her own touches to the Secrets of Hartwood Hall. The ending caught me off guard as I had expected a different outcome. On reflection it's a fitting one that's perfect. 

If you enjoy this genre, than this is a book for you. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall. I quite enjoyed this debut and wouldn't hesitate to pick up her next book. More please!