Rhonda's Doings !

DEAD SILENCE by Robin Caroll Political games can be deadly…   Elise Carmichael is a court sign language interpreter who reads lips all the time. As a widow with a young son who is deaf, lip reading is simply second nature, until the day she reads the lips of someone on the phone discussing an attempt to be made on a senator’s life—a senator who just happens to be her mother-in-law. Before she can decide what she needs to do, she receives the information that her son is rushed to the ER and she must leave. Then she later sees the news report that her mother-in-law has been shot and killed. But when she comes forward, her life, as well as her son’s life, may now be in the crosshairs of the assassin. MY BOOK REVIEW:   4 Stars:  4/5 Star Rating Scale           This is a good one, folks!   Readers will be enticed into the political world of deceit and of course, there's murder!   Who doesn't love a good murder mystery?...

HIS WIFE'S SISTER  by A J Wills He stole her childhood. Now she wants it back. A woman is found wandering through woodland, confused and severely undernourished. Police identify her as Mara Sitwell, who was just eleven years old when she vanished from her home nineteen years earlier. She says she was abducted and held captive in an underground cell for all that time. Her escape seems to prove miracles can happen - but not everyone is convinced. Tortured by guilt, Mara’s sister Lucia insists on taking her in. But Lucia’s husband, Damian is not so sure it’s a good idea. He suspects Mara is hiding a terrible secret – and fears the whole family could be in danger. MY BOOK REVIEW: 5 Stars: 5/5 Star Rating          Well, well, well, Mara is home but something just doesn't seem "right" to her brother-in-law, Damian.  He is determined to find out what is the truth of the matter too.  But Mara isn't talking and he begins to take extreme measure...

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian Book Description: From the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  Midwives  and  The Flight Attendant  comes a twisting story of love and deceit: an American man vanishes on a rural road in Vietnam, and his girlfriend, an emergency room doctor trained to ask questions, follows a path that leads her home to the very hospital where they met. The first time Alexis saw Austin, it was a Saturday night. Not in a bar, but in the emergency room where Alexis sutured a bullet wound in Austin's arm. Six months later, on the brink of falling in love, they travel to Vietnam on a bike tour so that Austin can show her his passion for cycling and he can pay his respects to the place where his father and uncle fought in the war. But as Alexis sips white wine and waits at the hotel for him to return from his solo ride, two men emerge from the tall grass and Austin vanishes into thin air. The only clue he leaves behind is a bright ...

Dead End  (Kaely Quinn Profiler #3) by Nancy Mehl Book Description: When a body is discovered in a field in Iowa, the police uncover fourteen additional corpses ranging from 20 years old to recent. The remains point to a serial killer with an MO the authorities have seen before--Ed Oliphant, a man who has been in prison for over 20 years . . . and is Special Agent Kaely Quinn's father. After several failed interview attempts to discover if Ed has been training someone to be a copycat killer, the police turn to Kaely in St. Louis. Kaely promised herself she would never step foot in her hometown or set eyes on her father again. She's always refused to confront her past, but if she wants to prevent any more deaths, she must come face-to-face with the man she's hated for years. As more bodies are discovered, Kaely races against time and her own personal turmoil to uncover the killer. Will this most personal case yet cost Kaely her identity and perhaps even her life? MY...

Collision of Lies by Tom Threadgill Three years ago, a collision between a fast-moving freight train and a school bus full of kids led to devastation and grief on an unimaginable scale. But a fresh clue leads San Antonio police detective Amara Alvarez to the unlikely conclusion that one of the children may still be alive. If she's correct, everything law enforcement believes about the accident is a lie. With time running out, Amara must convince others--and herself--that despite all evidence to the contrary, the boy lives. And she will do everything in her power to bring him home. A fresh voice in suspense, Tom Threadgill will have you questioning everything as you fly through the pages of this enthralling story. MY BOOK REVIEW: 5 Stars: 5/5 Star Rating  Wow!  This is the best suspense I have read lately!   I just hated to have put this book down to do other things.  Housework can wait, can't it?    This book kept me guessing. I didn't kno...

The Blizzard Bride (The Daughters of the Mayflower #11) by Susanne Dietze A Blizzard Changes Everything Abigail Bracey arrives in Nebraska in January 1888 to teach school…and to execute a task for the government: to identify a student as the hidden son of a murderous counterfeiter—the man who killed her father. Agent Dashiell Lassiter doesn’t want his childhood sweetheart Abby on this dangerous job, especially when he learns the counterfeiter is now searching for his son, too, and he’ll destroy anyone in his way. Now Dash must follow Abby to Nebraska to protect her…if she’ll let him within two feet of her. She’s still angry he didn’t fight to marry her six years ago, and he never told her the real reason he left her. All Dash wants is to protect Abby, but when a horrifying blizzard sweeps over them, can Abby and Dash set aside the pain from their pasts and work together to catch a counterfeiter and protect his son—if they survive the storm? MY REVIEW: 5 Stars:  5/5 Star R...

Fire Storm  (Kaely Quinn Profiler #2) by Nancy Mehl Book Description: FBI Profiler Kaely Quinn visits Nebraska to care for her ailing mother. She can't help but notice suspicious connections among a series of local fires, so she calls on her partner, Noah Hunter, to help find the arsonist. Together they unwittingly embark on a twisted path to a mad man who is determined his last heinous act will be Kaely's death. MY REVIEW:     5 Stars:  5/5 Stars Well, I didn't think it was possible for Nancy Mehl's second book in the Kaely Quinn Profiler series to be better than Mind Games, book #1, but it is!    I was on the edge of my seat as I read and very anxious to discover the identity of the arsonist and stop him !!! I love Kaely Quinn.  I think she and I could be friends if she actually existed outside the pages of this delightful book. Is book #3 ready yet???   I received a copy of this book from netgalley and Bethany House Publishers ...

WHAT YOU  DO  WITH AN OBSESSION COUNTS "I, KARENNA ELIZABETH Ashe, being of sound mind, do…  But that’s it, isn’t it? Being here proves I am not of sound mind… ” So begins Book 1 of the  Pride’s Children  trilogy: Kary immediately regrets the misplaced sense of  noblesse oblige  which compels her to appear, live on national television—at exorbitant personal cost. What she cannot anticipate is an entanglement with Hollywood that may destroy her carefully-constructed solitudinarian life. A contemporary mainstream love story, in the epic tradition of  Jane Eyre , and Dorothy L. Sayers’ four-novel bond between Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane,  Pride’s Children  starts with a very public chance encounter, and will eventually stretch over three separate continents. MY THOUGHTS:     2 Stars:  2 /5 rating scale I could not get into this book and did not particularly enjoy it.  Too much seemed to be goin...

Mind Games (Kaely Quinn Profiler #1) by Nancy Mehl This book is a MUST-READ!!!!! Book Description: Kaely Quinn's talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she's demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis. When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely's, the reporter's ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem's predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis. Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer befo...

  Death and Daisies (A Magic Garden Mystery #2) by Amanda Flower Book Description: National bestselling author Amanda Flower returns with her second floral Magic Garden mystery, perfect for readers of Paige Shelton and Sheila Connolly. Florist Fiona Knox left behind her gloomy life for a magical garden in Scotland, but a murder on her shop’s opening day spells doom. Fiona Knox thought she was pulling her life back together when she inherited her godfather’s cottage in Duncreigan, Scotland—complete with a magical walled garden. But the erstwhile Tennessee flower shop owner promptly found herself puddle boot-deep in danger when she found a dead body among the glimmering blossoms. One police investigation later (made a trifle less unpleasant by the presence of handsome Chief Inspector Neil Craig), and Fiona’s life is getting back on a steady, though bewitched, track. Her sister Isla has just moved in with her, and the grand opening of her new spellbound venture, the Climbing Ro...

Apart  by C.J. Pastore Book Description: Growing up is hard. No one knows that better than Alicia Cesare. As a child, Alicia struggled to free herself from the cloying shadow of her mother’s depression and the overprotectiveness of a meddlesome family. Now, with a top-selling fashion design and a passion-filled relationship with New York City real estate mogul Chase Reardon, being an adult isn’t so bad … until she’s viciously attacked by a Russian drug lord out for the blood of anyone that matters to Chase. Under constant surveillance from family and a team of ex-special-ops Marines, Alicia remains determined to maintain her freedom and grow her fashion brand. This does not sit well with Chase, who considers Alicia’s behavior as much of a threat to her safety as the drug lord himself.  Chase thought his service to the United States ended, but when he’s called to duty overseas, he readily responds. What’s meant to be a simple mission unravels into a dangerous separ...

Blind Betrayal (Defenders of Justice #3) by Nancy Mehl Book Description: U.S. Marshal Casey Quinn is tasked with escorting a reporter to testify before a grand jury regarding a missing environmentalist. At first, the assignment seems routine. But when it becomes dangerously clear that there's more to the story than anyone knows, Casey and two other marshals--one a man from her past--will have to do whatever it takes to survive. My Book Review:  Wow!!!  This may well be Nancy Mehl's best work of suspense yet.  There is intrigue, romance between old flames, terrorism and the fight against it, FBI involvement, and more.  US Marshals, Casey and E.J. are professional and highly trained as well as the couple you root for.   The romance does not play a heavy part in the story, as the marshals and the people entrusted to their protection are the focus of the book, but it certainly makes the relationship more exciting.         ...

The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz (Jane Hawk series #1) Book Description: From #1  New York Times  bestselling author of dark psychological suspense and modern classics of mystery and adventure comes a thriller that ventures into science, secrecy and danger. “I very much need to be dead.” These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what. People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America. Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important—so terrifying—that they will exterminate anyone in their way. But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are...

Review of Fatal Frost Defenders of Justice #1 by Nancy Mehl Mehl Ramps Up the Suspense in This Brand-New U.S. Marshals Series  Mercy Brennan followed in her father's footsteps in a law enforcement career, but she has no interest in any other connection to him. A U.S. Marshal in St. Louis, Missouri, she's assigned to a joint task force with the St. Louis PD that puts her back into contact with her father and in the sights of St. Louis's most powerful gang.  When the gang has reason to believe Mercy has possession of some highly sensitive and incriminating information, her boss assigns Mark St. Laurent--a Deputy U.S. Marshal and Mercy's ex-boyfriend--to get her out of town until they can guarantee her safety.  Initiallyrc unaware of the danger she's in and uncomfortable working with Mark, Mercy's frustration escalates when she discovers the extent her boss and Mark have been keeping her in the dark. It isn't until a freak ice storm hits, str...

Review of Claiming Noah by Amanda Ortlepp Catriona and James are desperate for children, and embark on an IVF program. After a gruelling round of treatments, Catriona finally falls pregnant, and they donate their remaining embryo anonymously. Diana and Liam are on a waiting list to receive an embryo. Sooner than expected, they are thrilled to discover one is available. After a difficult pregnancy, Catriona gives birth to Sebastian. But severe postnatal depression affects her badly, and quickly turns into deadly psychosis. For her protection and her baby’s, she’s admitted into psychiatric care. When she comes home, she again struggles to bond with her baby, but gradually life finds its own rhythm. Meanwhile, Diana has given birth to a beautiful little boy, Noah. But when he is two months old Noah is abducted … and Diana and Liam’s nightmare begins. Where is Noah?   MY REVIEW:   I recall years ago, when I was a teenager in the 1970's about the first te...