“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
—-Henry David Thoreau

It has been a long time since I gave thought to this blog. I never stopped reading, but the last few years have somehow stolen my Joie de Écriture (joy of writing). That was always such a big part of my life, and I miss communicating with you all. I recently came upon a blog I wrote in 2018 and found that with a few (very few) updates, what I wrote then (before Covid) fits my Thanksgiving plans this year. So, I am editing my 2018 words with hopes that next year I can write about a Thanksgiving free of political discord, disease and bigotry.

I think we all need to take a break from political bickering and generally bad news and roast a turkey. The turkey needs to be crispy skinned and quite juicy, and the accompanying stuffing (or dressing...according to location) needs to be moist, filled with veggies and sporting those crispy bits on top. The mashed potatoes need to have a Ton of butter (forgive me this one-time Dr. Morris) whipped throughout, and the gravy should be rich and liberally poured. String bean casserole, roasted carrots, butternut squash and corn soufflé might be nice, and cranberry sauce needs the perfect mix of tang and sweet to round out the meal.

Then we get to dessert. Somehow as that Thursday in November draws near, all I can think of is pie. Arthur usually contributes a traditional pumpkin pie while I will produce the perfect pecan pie...the recipe straight from the light corn syrup bottle. Apple or cherry pie can contribute the requisite fruit part of dessert, and Beth’s amazing carrot cake covers after dinner vegetables in our feast each year. Several cookie varieties will round out this array of sweets, and we should all become catatonic as we swallow the last bite.

Next, we need to enjoy quality time together with those we love. We used to have televised football games entertaining my troops, but I have a bit of a ban going on. Somehow what used to be a fun thing to cheer for, has become a blood sport. Too many young men ending up with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) make my one-time favorite sport pretty much unwatchable for me. Then when they started arguing over this whole taking a knee business, I decided to find other forms of entertainment.

Most importantly, we forget the politics of disagreement and swallow our bitter words long enough to recognize our similarities and be thankful for everything that is good.  The food on our tables and roof over our heads should be shared with open hearts and not policy differences. I took note last year that our Thanksgiving table included people of different races, cultures, sexual preferences and political choices, and that is what makes our lives interesting. When we share backgrounds and interests with each other we grow as individuals and our world becomes a more inclusive place.

It is time to stop taking another person’s political choice as a personal affront. I have been as guilty as the next person in judging others’ choices, and the time has come to respect other people’s political leanings and understand that they are much more than the candidate they support. They are the kind and intelligent people that they have always been, and I will not buy into the “us -vs- them” mentality that is so pervasive in our country at this time.

We picked up Mike from a busy airport on Sunday, and he is planning an extended stay this time, so I am looking forward to lots of mother-son quality time. I am also hoping for some extra mother-daughter time too. Between Beth’s teaching and her bout with Covid (second time around) we have not had time to just have fun together, so I am hoping all will stay well Thanksgiving weekend and Beth and I can sneak away for a bit.

I am also hoping that after the holidays are over, I will get back to sharing my thoughts and books with you all. For now, I wish you a very happy and healthy day filled with food, family, friends and fun.

I discovered author Alafair Burke this past year and am finishing up one of her many suspenseful novels. If You Were Here: A Novel of Suspense has definitely kept me wondering, and I highly recommend it.

As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

Beverly

Click on the book name to order the title mentioned for review in today's blog

​Genre: Thriller

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Ms. Burke has a way of capturing her readers in chapter one and taking us on a ride that we never want to end. If You Were Here begins with a stolen cell phone, a chase scene and a disappearing heroine. Protagonist McKenna Jordan believes this heroine is a long missing friend of hers and uses all of her journalistic skills and connections to try to track her down.

McKenna’s obsession with her missing friend, Susan, took over her life ten years ago, and it takes over her life again when she tries to find the current heroine who she believes is Susan. This author does a great job bringing her characters to life, and the reader feels sympathy for McKenna who seems to hit one stumbling block after another on her quest for answers. While her husband seems supportive, he is obviously attempting to steer her away from this quest. Her boss also seems supportive, until things start falling apart at work.

If You Were Here has multiple interesting threads, but the author pulls it together in the end and leaves us feeling satisfied and ready for her next novel.

- Beverly

Publisher - Harper
Date of Publication - June 4, 2013 (Reprint edition)

“I have lived a thousand lives and I’ve loved a thousand loves. I’ve walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read.”
......George R.R. Martin


Well, another year down for me, as I celebrated my birthday on Thursday. Pandemic birthdays haven’t been much fun, but I got to spend it with Arthur, who made me “from scratch” Danish pastry for breakfast, and a great dinner, complete with delicious homemade rolls. He has become quite the baker over these two years, so my freezer is always filled with homemade bread. I spent most of the day reading, which is my favorite thing to do. A hot cup of ginger tea and a good book makes everything better…well almost everything.

I have found some amazing authors who are new to me during these last few years. I just finished a book that actually took me by surprise several times. After many years of reading some of the finest authors, I tend to guess what is happening before it is revealed. In her novel, The Marriage Lie, Kimberly Belle shocked me…twice, and that is difficult to do anymore.

Some of my favorite authors have books coming out this year, too, and I can’t wait to read/review them for you. Linwood Barclay has two books for us this year (Take Your Breathe Away will be published in May and Look Both Ways is due out in June) while Julie Clark’s The Lies I Tell is due out June 21. Of course, my favorite “light read” author, David Rosenfelt, has a few books coming out this year, and Andrew Gross promises another best seller as well.

Robert Bailey’s newest, Rich Blood, is due out in August and promises another fun peek into life (and death) in the Deep South. David Baldacci’s upcoming novel, The 6:20 Man, and J.D. Trafford’s Merchants Bridge both look like exciting additions to this year's upcoming library of books.

Lastly, Alex Finlay, who blew me away last year with Every Last Fear, has followed up with a new winner, Night Shift. I discovered Finlay accidentally last year and couldn’t wait for his next novel. I did some research hoping to find past books of his that I might have missed and found that Alex Finlay is the pseudonym of another author who I have read and enjoyed through the years. My review of Night Shift will follow this blog. It is due out in a few weeks and is definitely something to look forward to reading.

I was happy to see that the pandemic did not stifle the creativity of the men and women who deliver us so much knowledge and entertainment with each novel that they present. Although I try to never repeat the quotations I begin each weeks’ blog with, I felt George R.R. Martin’s words were worth repeating. I, for one, would like to acknowledge these fine authors for making these last two years tolerable for me. They took me on adventures when I could not leave my house, and I thank them for that on a daily basis.

As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

-Beverly

​Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned for review in today's blog

​Genre: Mystery

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There is something captivating about the style of Alex Finlay’s writing. His first book, Every Last Fear, had me reading late into the night, and his latest, The Night Shift, did the same. His characters are multi-leveled, and his plots are creative enough to hold one’s interest as they develop.


The Night Shift starts with the murder of several young people at a Blockbuster Video store on New Year’s Eve 1999 and quickly shifts to a similar murder at an ice cream store in 2015. Alternating chapters are seen through the eyes of several characters. Sarah Keller is a “badass” FBI agent, who doesn’t let her being nine months pregnant stop her from doing her job. Chris is a defense attorney with a secret identity that could destroy his career if discovered. Ella is the sole survivor of the Blockbuster massacre, who is called upon to help the sole survivor of the current massacre.

Together these three voices tell a story that keep the readers on the edge of their seats. The supporting characters are equally interesting as the plot twists and turns and points in different directions before the truth is finally revealed. Hopefully, Finlay has been busily writing his third novel, because I, for one, can’t wait to read it.

-Beverly


Publisher - Minotaur Books
Date of Publication - March 1, 2022​

“Every choice you make has an end result.”
—-Zig Ziglar


Life is one big decision/choice after another. We wake up and decide whether or not to hit the snooze alarm or jump right out of bed, whether to eat a healthy breakfast or grab a pop tart, or whether to wear jeans or a skirt/suit. As the day goes on our decisions might become a bit more critical in our workplace and in our personal life.

When we are younger, we decide who we want to be friends with, and later who we want to date. We decide which college or trade school might be best for us, and then we hope that they select us. We decide on a career, change our mind several times, and finally achieve our goal. We choose who we marry or choose to remain single.

Many of those choices are life altering, but most of them aren’t life ending. There are those choices, however, that could make the difference between life or death. Should we always wear a seatbelt? What if it is uncomfortable? Should I start/give up smoking? I need something to help me relax. Should I get the vaccine? I do have a good immune system.

I believe that when we are faced with choices that involve the possibility of physical or mental fallback, we sit back, take a deep breathe, and do research. Who should we believe though, when we are being fed facts and theories from both sides?  

First of all, it is important to read articles that support ideas against your first inclination as well as articles that seem to lead you in the direction you want to go.

Secondly, make sure the “expert” who is trying to sway you is truly an expert. In other words, neither Sean Hannity nor Don Lemon have degrees in medicine or research, so they will not be my vaccine go-to people. I am pretty sure that a spokesperson for “big tobacco” isn’t the best choice on information about the negative issues dealing with cigarettes. Instead, I try to find impartial people who have nothing to gain. Generally, I have turned to scientists because they are trained to be impartial.

Of course, even in the field of science there could be people with agendas, so I don’t pay as much attention to pharmaceutically driven studies on drugs as I do to physician-controlled studies/research that have nothing to do with drug companies.  Once I do my own research among impartial presentations, I make my decision.

I am mildly drug phobic, so choosing to get three doses of the Pfizer vaccine was not an easy choice, but it was the only right one for me. After spending a year watching people I know get terribly sick and die from Covid-19, my fear of the disease outweighed my fear of the vaccine. I listened to those warning us against putting poison into our bodies, but I realized that most of them were either politically motivated or desperate to make a name for themselves.

This should not be a political issue. It isn’t a political issue really, considering a republican president made sure the vaccine was available quickly, and a democratic president is distributing it just as quickly. Even those who seem politically against the vaccine (i.e. Governor Ron DeSantis) are vaccinated themselves and helping to make it available to their constituents. It is the far radical politicians (on both sides) who cause the insurmountable damage to our democracy and our health.

I will finish today’s blog by saying that I am not a fan of a vaccine mandate, because I do believe in personal choice. I do hope that you use that personal choice to protect yourself and those in your community who need your help though. Of course, there is a small possibility of negative reactions in any type of vaccination, but there is so much more danger in letting fear overcome rational thought. I hope you choose to vaccinate, but whatever you decide, please let it be your own decision…don’t let self-serving agitators direct your personal choice. Stay Safe!

Speaking of choices, there are some very difficult ones in Legacy of Lies, a legal thriller by Robert Bailey. This novel brings back some of my favorite characters in a Deep South setting that has me craving fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese.

As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

-Beverly

​Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog

Genre: Legal Thriller

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I came across Robert Bailey’s first book, The Professor, about five years ago. The legal thriller featured McMurtrie and Drake, two dynamic attorneys in a small town in Tennessee, and I was hooked from page one. Since that time Bailey has brought back McMurtrie and Drake in his series of four McMurtrie and Drake legal series books. My favorite part of the series has always revolved around the interesting characters that populate his books. Bocephus Hayes was one of my favorites.

Bo is the only African American litigator in Pulaski, Tennessee, and that is not easy for him. We found a bit of his past history in Bailey’s previous books, and though I don’t want to give anything away, I highly recommend you read the series if you haven’t yet. Another interesting character from previous books is Attorney General Helen Lewis, and she plays a key role in this novel, Legacy of Lies.

When Helen refuses to drop statutory and forcible rape charges against Michael Zannick, who is powerful, unscrupulous, and rich, she is visited by her ex-husband, Butch Renfroe. Butch knows where the skeletons are buried in Helen’s closet, and he threatens to reveal them if she doesn’t drop the charges. Butch is killed the next evening, and evidence leads them to Helen. Witnesses saw her at Butch’s house that evening, and a weapon is linked to her. She had a clear motive, and the Sheriff has no choice but to arrest her.

Knowing that she would be arrested, Helen tracks down Bo and asks him to take her case. Bo is going through his own family and career problems and is reluctant to take the case. He ultimately decides to do it for Helen, and what follows is another of Robert Bailey’s top notch Deep South legal thrillers. Each character adds another layer to Legacy of Lies, and the twists and turns will definitely keep you turning pages deep into the night.

- Beverly


​Publisher - Thomas & Mercer
Date of Publication - ​June 1, 2020

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
—-C.S. Lewis

I started this blog on January 21, 2021, and like the other fifteen blogs I started last year, I got halfway through and filed it away. I decided to bring it back out and finish it today, because it is time to get back to business as the “new usual.” So, if this reads a bit disjointedly, it is because it took me 365 days to finish it, but the sentiment that was there then, continues now.

I woke up on January 21, 2021, with a feeling I was unfamiliar with these past few years...hope. If nothing else, I know that kindness and civility will be brought back into our government. I know that the things that are important to me; equality for all, clean environment, health care and education will all be priorities with this administration. I believe that there will be more transparency these next four years, and science and truth will both be respected.

I also am aware that many people woke up this morning with the same feeling in the pit of their stomach that I had four years ago today. Republicans and Democrats have different priorities, and neither party is more “correct” than the other. I am uncompromisingly, radically left as far as equal rights (and justice) for all go, but in most other areas I lean towards the middle. Although I would like to live in a country that leans towards liberal in all areas, I understand that our country is populated with an equal amount of conservative thinking people, and we must find a level of comfort for all.

In order to better understand what is going on, I did a great deal of channel hopping these last few months, and it helped me understand the confusion our country is feeling. We are shown totally different slants on all events when we watch the liberal leaning news or the conservative leaning news (oh Walter Cronkite, where are you when we need you most?), and each side is spinning a different tale. Most of us seem to be watching the news to validate our beliefs though, so these media outlets can get away with spouting opinion rather than fact. Sean Hannity fans will listen to his take on the news and believe they are facts while Don Lemon fans will see the world events through his liberal set of facts. I get it.

What I don’t understand is the people who can dismiss the sights I witnessed on our Capitol steps on January 6, 2021. No matter which side you lean towards, no matter what issue you believe is most important, no matter how much you want your “team” to win, when you see thousands of people adorned in Nazi like uniforms storming the Capitol, breaking its windows, defecating on its floors and searching for the Vice President of our country so they can lynch him, it is time to take a good look at who you are listening to and believing.

I do understand that the majority of people who went to Washington last year had noble intentions. They believed that their president had been wronged and that democracy was in danger. They wanted to stand up for what they thought was right. They turned and left when violence broke out. They, however, cannot be so blind as to believe that those who violently attacked all that America stands for, should be let go with a pat on the back. They cannot believe that supporting the politicians who support the insurrectionists is what our forefathers would have wanted. We must come together, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, and bring us back to one country…indivisible…with liberty and justice for ALL. You are right Mr. Lewis, we can’t change what did happen, but we can make sure it never happens again.

Now, if you want to know what I was doing during the year between the start and finish of this blog, it is not a secret. I was reading great books from great authors.
One book that got my heart was After Anna by Lisa Scottoline. This mystery wrapped around a family story kept my interest from page one.

As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

-Beverly
​

​Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog

Genre: Fiction

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Although I haven’t read all of Lisa Scottoline’s books, I have really enjoyed the ones I have read. After Anna is an interesting story with several twists one doesn’t see coming. Noah and Maggie are obviously in love and happily married, and together they are raising Noah’s son Caleb. It should be a happily ever after story, but we find out from the beginning that it is far from that happy ending.

Told from alternating points of view, the story starts with Noah waiting for the verdict in his murder trial. Then we go to Maggie...before. We find that she has not seen her daughter Anna since her husband retained custody years ago. Maggie suffered from severe postpartum depression and couldn’t fight her husband for custody. Chapter two begins with Maggie hearing from a teenaged Anna who wants to see her. Thrilled, Maggie makes arrangements to meet Anna at her boarding school.

The plot jumps back and forth, and we find that their lives fall apart when Anna moves in with Maggie, Noah and Caleb. Although Noah seems to be trying to build a relationship with Anna, Maggie feels a tension in the air, so when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused, she doesn’t know what to believe.

Some readers might be put off with the writing style, but I found it interesting. As each chapter ended, I anxiously jumped into the next, trying to decide exactly who I believed. There was a bit of predictability, but there was enough mystery to keep me interested throughout.

- Beverly
​

​Publisher - St. Martin's Press
Date of Publication - ​April 10, 2018

“I have lived a thousand lives and I have loved a thousand loves. I’ve walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time.
…Because I read.”  —-George R.R. Martin


I know that I am not alone when I say that this pandemic has completely destroyed my sleep cycles. I am wide awake and writing at 4:43 AM. This in itself is unusual, because it has also done a number on my ability to put pen to paper. There is a new normal that we will all have to adjust to, and I think it will be harder than we believe.

My one saving grace in this pandemic (actually one of two…Arthur by my side is the biggie) has been my love of reading. At least my mind can travel while my body sits firmly planted in my “safe” house. I have read more books in the past two years than I have read in the previous five combined, and those that know me realize that is a bundle of reading. Unfortunately, since the writing part of my brain took an extended vacation, I will have to spend the next few months playing catch up.

One of the reasons I have been absent the last year or so, has been my inability to remain somewhat impartial about events that surround me. I have taken pride in my life in being able to see both sides of every issue, even if I believed strongly in one side, but suddenly the world became black and white to me. Us and them. Good and bad. I had no desire to see the other side of any issue. I avoided people who didn’t see things my way. I became the very person that I often railed against. How did this happen?

I don’t know how it happened, but I am slowly coming out the other side. Although I was the first in line for all three doses of vaccine, I do understand the fear that some people have of putting the “unknown” into their bodies. Although I have not entered a building or been in a crowded outdoor space without a mask in two years, I sympathize with those who feel claustrophobic when their mouths and noses are covered. I have always been one who recognized the importance of community, and I do believe we have to move beyond our fears to help protect those around us, but I will try to not shut out those who don’t feel as I do.

So, I am back, and I will continue to contribute my thoughts on current happenings (as long as I can remain somewhat impartial) along with my recommendations of the amazing books, old and new, that I have been lucky enough to read. It may take me a few months to get into full swing, and I might miss a week here and there, but I will take my “new normal” and share it with you as we all tread softly through 2022.

In May of 2014, I wrote about Rick Mofina in the Featured Authors section of Madderlyreview.com., and while I mentioned his several series, I did not stress exactly how good his stand-alone thrillers are. If you never read a book by Rick Mofina before, Their Last Secret is a good introduction, and if you are a fan, this book won’t disappoint.

As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.

Happy reading,

-Beverly
​

​Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog

Genre: Mystery

Click book cover for Amazon.com

It is said that there are only a few storylines in the world, and authors spend their careers writing the same story in different ways. If this is true, than Rick Mofina has found the secret, because most of his novels are filled with twists and turns that feel as original as they are exciting. His latest offering, Their Last Secret, is one of his best offerings, filled with well defined characters and a mystery that is fun to delve into as we follow the clues.

Emma Grant is a school counselor in California with a wonderful husband and a step-daughter whom she is trying to win over. She is a far cry from the fourteen year old who made a blood pact with her friends to protect each other no matter what happens. When her author husband, Ben, agrees to write a true crime book about an event that happened years ago, suddenly Emma’s worlds seem to collide.

She is sure she is being followed, and when she tries to find out who is driving the suspicious car, an accident ensues and the mystery continues. When she finds a note on her car in the school parking lot that threatens to reveal her secret, Emma knows that she must do something to protect the family and life she has come to love.

Her step-daughter, Kayla, feels something is odd in the way Emma is acting, but her dad is sure she is imagining things because she misses her deceased mother. Emma’s balancing act gets more a more precarious as she finds that old friends aren’t always good friends, and memories can be startlingly different from one old friend to another. The desperate steps that Emma takes to right her world will have the reader on seat’s edge until the satisfying conclusion.

-Beverly


​Publisher - MIRA; Original edition
Date of Publication - ​​July 28, 2020