Book Review for Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe

Wow! This book was incredible from beginning to end. I blew past my bedtime to finish! It won’t be for everyone though. As noted by the author in a letter at the beginning of the book, it is graphically violent. That shouldn’t come as a surprise when you pick up a book about an assassin but it is worth noting. I found myself pulled along, though, wanting to know more about Nena’s story.

To read the full review visit: http://celebratingauthors.ca/2023/08/09/book-review-for-her-name-is-knight-by-yasawriter-amazonpub/.

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This review is simply the personal opinion of Carolyn Arnold. Expressions and opinions are her own and not influenced by external sources, nor is she benefited financially or otherwise in any way. She simply believes in supporting her fellow authors and sharing her thoughts on a book in that spirit alone.

Book Review for The Scottish Ladies Detective Agency by @LindaTyler100

Maud signed up to catch a jewel thief, but she gets more than she bargained for. When the victim of a robbery is murdered, Maud needs to bag a killer.

Maud is a lady and comes from money, but she's ambitious and wants to make a life for herself. Sitting around and finding a husband isn't her idea of living a life of purpose. She decides to leave her pampered life behind to open a private investigation firm and takes her former maid, Daisy, with her. 

But in their day and age, business and ambition were typically left to men. Due to this, at first it's looking like their new business is going to get off to a rough start, but soon the cases start coming in. Their first client is a duchess hosting a weekend affair, concerned about the jewels of her wealthy guests getting pinched. After all, there have been a spite of robberies in the area recently. But when a guest's diamond necklace is stolen, that's not the only crime that was committed. The owner of the necklace was murdered.

This puts Maud and Daisy in over their heads, but they still manage to keep calm and get the job done. And while there's an arrest, it doesn't settle. There has to be more to what happened, but it's not until Maud and Daisy pick up a couple more cases, that the pieces start to go together. 

I found this book to be a good introduction to a new series. The pairing of Maud and her assistant, Daisy, worked well but as the series advances, I'd like to hear more from Daisy. With that said, this book was an enjoyable, light read, and I'm interested to see where the series will go.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. 

Buy on Amazon. 

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Read and reviewed by CAROLYN ARNOLD. Expressions and opinions are her own. She is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy mysteries, police procedurals, and thrillers to action adventures. 

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Book Review for The Woman at Number 6 by @mfarrellwriter

This twisty corkscrew of a ride will give you whiplash!

This book was a blend of domestic suspense meets police procedural. It started off like the former with Tracy leaving her husband and taking with her therapist. But then it takes a turn, and another, and another... 

On her way home to talk things out with her husband, a car is tailing her. When Tracy takes a back road in an effort to ditch this person, she soon finds out that she failed in doing so. Next thing she knows her car is being pushed in the river. While she manages to get out before it fully goes under, she runs. Her pursuer follows and what happened from there is revealed through several scenes as the book goes on.

In the meantime, there are two police investigations. There is one involving the murder of a lawyer and one Tracy's disappearance. But who exactly was this lawyer and how is her murder at all connected with the story? You'll need to read the book to find out. 

I don't want to say too much more to risk giving spoilers, but if you like complicated, layered stories, this is not one to be missed! I highly recommend. 

Buy on Amazon. 

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Read and reviewed by CAROLYN ARNOLD. Expressions and opinions are her own. She is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy mysteries, police procedurals, and thrillers to action adventures. 

CLICK GRAPHIC FOR RETAIL LINKS

Book Review for The Marriage Counselor by @deapoirierbooks

Our society thrives on misery, it’s prepackaged and sold to us through pop culture. Hate your job, hate your spouse, hate your family— and most importantly, hate yourself. We were not designed to be miserable , but this world created an assembly line that’s impossible to get off. I help people get off that carousel, or at least I try to. - Excerpt from The Marriage Counselor 

OMG! This is one of the best, if not THE BEST, domestic suspense novels I've ever read! From the first chapter, the narrative pulled me in and it wasn't long before things really began moving.

Adele Johansen, a marriage counselor, is following in the shadows of her parents who used to treat couples on a TV show. She lost them when she was thirteen, and they died in a fiery car crash. When an old flame, now police detective, comes knocking at Adele's door she never expected that her life was about to take such drastic turns. He's there to inform her that her husband of seven years is missing, but that's not all. She soon finds out all the secrets the man she was married to was keeping from her. And while she's processing this, the integrity of her parents' work and the details surrounding their crash are also being questioned in the media spotlight. Her business and reputation are taking a huge hit, and she's going to need to rebuild her life. 

This book had me flipping the pages! The lies and secrets stack up along with the body count-- and let's not leave out the glorious twists! I don't feel I can say much more without giving away spoilers, but do yourself a favor, read this book. But first, grab yourself a tea and cozy up under a blanket, whatever you can do to calm yourself because this book will have your heart racing! 

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. 

Buy on Amazon. 

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I also had the pleasure of reading Dea Poirier's Find Me in the Dark. Here were my thoughts on that one:

Incredible. When I read the description, I knew that I had to read this book! And it did not disappoint. You've got the daughter of a serial killer working on tracking one down...? That makes for an interesting read. I look forward to future installments in series. Strong characterization + fast pacing + solid investigating = one great page-turner! 

Buy on Amazon. 

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Read and reviewed by CAROLYN ARNOLD. Expressions and opinions are her own. She is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy mysteries, police procedurals, and thrillers to action adventures. 

CLICK GRAPHIC FOR RETAIL LINKS

Book Review for The Polish Daughter by @GosiaNealon

"Our sad city is plagued with skeletons of buildings and cross-marked graves. When we were fighting every day to protect the homeland, we lived on adrenaline. We had no time to reflect or see things around us. But now, I can’t help crying for my ruined, bleeding Warsaw. It will never be the same again." - Excerpt from The Polish Daughter

This book will have you wanting to reach into the pages and strangle some people! There are secrets, and someone people aren't who they say. Lying and betrayal by people out for their own agenda, those who present themselvesas trustworthy. And all this admid a brutal war. With these friends, who needs enemies?

Like with the other books I've read by Gosia Nealon, THE POLISH DAUGHTER just sucked me right in. Once I started, I found it near impossible to set the book down! She's an incredible storyteller and her approach to Word War 2 fiction really humanizes that time in history. Those alive then were just like us today with dreams and hopes, just sadly so many of them were squashed. As I think every time I read this genre, it's heartbreaking to how sadistic man can be too another.

"How can one human do this to another? It’s the question we have been asking for the last five years." - Excerpt from The Polish Daughter

For those, like me, who have the previous books in this series, this one has cameo appearances from characters in an earlier installment. If this was done in the other books before this one, I missed it. But it was neat seeing the paths cross between the characters.

Nealon also doesn't shy away from giving a graphic image of the atrocities committed during that time. I think this, too, is what makes her stories so intense.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy. 

Buy on Amazon. 

Here are my thoughts on The Polish Girl, book one in the Secret Resistance Series:

This book was an incredible read that had me turning the pages. Full of emotion and resolution. Wanda was an excellent lead character though I also very much enjoyed the chapters from Finn's point of view. When reading the book blurb I had no idea how it was going to unfold--a young woman falling for the man who killed her father but it worked out and was explained logically. Recommend this read. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

Buy on Amazon. 

You can read my review for book 2, The Polish Wife here.

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Read and reviewed by CAROLYN ARNOLD. Expressions and opinions are her own. She is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy mysteries, police procedurals, and thrillers to action adventures. 

CLICK GRAPHIC FOR RETAIL LINKS