I’m joining with Carolyn Astfalk and Catholic Mom for An Open Book. Here’s what I’ve been reading and working on for the past month!
Now available from FQP!
Amazon Synopsis: Twenty-two years after Mibs Monahan was adopted by her great-aunt Bernie, it became apparent that the woman who had raised her was suffering the frailties of old age. Mibs did not hesitate to set aside her dream of becoming a clothing designer to take care of her aunt.
Mibs hadn’t realized that opening a sewing shop would also open the door to experiencing the loss of two friends, Jennifer Morris and her sister, Jasmine Hornsby. At first, the death of Jennifer appeared to be an accidental poisoning. A short time later, the death of Jasmine was declared a suicide. When authorities claimed that grief over the loss of her sister drove Jasmine to take her own life, Mibs confronted the staunch, self-assured Detective Jace Trueblood and told him that was not possible. Even when the detective’s alluring blue eyes and disarming smile were changing her first impression of annoyance to undeniable attraction, she still insisted that following the thread of evidence would lead to the hidden truth.
Balancing the challenges of opening and running a new business and contemplating the tragic deaths of two sisters has Mibs wondering what tomorrow will bring. Being brought up on love, kindness, and sacrifice gave Mibs Monahan a kind heart, but it also gave her determination and a desire for justice.
A Thread of Evidence is available at this link.
Amazon Synopsis: Cheryl Strayed’s Wild meets Katherine Center’s How to Walk Away in Kathleen Basi’s debut novel about an unconventional road trip and what it means to honor the ones we love.
It’s one year after the death of her husband and twin teenagers, and Miriam Tedesco has lost faith in humanity and herself. When a bouquet of flowers that her husband always sends on their anniversary shows up at her workplace, she completely unravels. With the help of her best friend, she realizes that it’s time to pick up the pieces and begin to move on. Step one is not even cleaning out her family’s possessions, but just taking inventory starting with her daughter’s room. But when she opens her daughter’s computer, she stumbles across a program her daughter has created detailing an automated cross-country road trip, for her and her husband to take as soon-to-be empty nesters.
Seeing and hearing the video clips of her kids embedded in the program, Miriam is determined to take this trip for her children. Armed with her husband’s guitar, her daughter’s cello, and her son’s unfinished piano sonata, she embarks on a musical pilgrimage to grieve the family she fears she never loved enough. Along the way she meets a young, pregnant hitchhiker named Dicey, whose boisterous and spunky attitude reminds Miriam of her own daughter.
Tornadoes, impromptu concerts, and an unlikely friendship…whether she’s prepared for it or not, Miriam’s world is coming back to life. But as she struggles to keep her focus on the reason she set out on this journey, she has to confront the possibility that the best way to honor her family may be to accept the truths she never wanted to face.
Hopeful, honest, and tender, A Song for the Road is about courage, vulnerability, and forgiveness, even of yourself, when it really matters.
My review: On my “to read” shelf.
Amazon Synopsis: Marita Mercer has no intention of losing custody of her daughter to Jim and his perfect little wife. So what if Charli’s father is successful, established and respected now? Does that make up for the fact that he never wanted their daughter in the first place? But in the battle of Marita the single mother vs. Jim and his perfect little church-going wife, Marita is almost certain she will lose. Angel Alessio’s life with her husband is missing only one thing – the very thing Marita has already given him. And although Angel loves her stepdaughter, that love does nothing to ease her longing for a baby of her own. Both women are determined to keep their families together…but at what cost?
My review: I enjoyed this novel that centers around a custody battle between a single mother (who had her twelve-year-old daughter at sixteen), the father of the twelve-year-old who for most of the child’s life has not been in the picture, and the father’s new wife, who is a practicing Christian, who wants to please her husband but does not agree with him that they should seek full custody. A lot of dialogue and the character of the father could’ve been developed a bit more realistically, but an overall pleasant read. 4/5.
1979—Terror reigns in Nicaragua. The Sandinistas have seized power. Julian Mendero, leader of the Christian opposition, is arrested for stealing a national treasure—the Valdivieso Cross. But not before his son, Pedro, flees to the Sanctuary underground and begins an arduous journey to the US border.
Months later, FBI Agent Steve Rodriguez enters the murky world of the border killings, a series of inexplicable murders. When evidence points to a foreign death squad he enlists the help of Carol Shannon, a Sanctuary activist searching for Pedro. But Carol is reluctant to help. Trauma of a recent sexual assault has left her fearful and suffering nightmares. Yet Steve’s compassion—and Carol’s commitment to end the killing and find Pedro—gradually builds trust, while mutual attraction soon gives way to passionate desire.
Mysteries unfold when Steve consults notorious ex-patriot Hector Rone. He learns Rone’s lover, Claudia Haas—antiquities expert, thief, and femme du monde—has joined two militant priests in their search for Pedro and the Valdivieso Cross. Tensions rise when Steve learns the death squad leader may be the father of Carol’s unborn child. Time is short. Steve must find a way to stop the death squad, find Pedro and the precious Valdivieso Cross, and save the woman he loves from making a terrible mistake.
The Cross and the Godless will be available soon on Amazon and other booksellers.
My review: I’ll be helping this author with his promotion so my review is coming!
Plot Line and Sinker (Ellen Gable, Author) 
The Cross and the Godless sounds intriguing. Not something I typically pick up, but the complexity could be gripping. Thanks for linking to An Open Book!