book review

India Hartley, a famous and beautiful actress, is now alone after her father’s death and embarks upon a tour of theaters across the South. Her first stop is Savannah’s Southern Palace. On the eve of the second night’s performance, something goes horribly wrong. Her co-star, Arthur Sterling, is shot dead on stage in front of a packed house, and India is arrested and accused of the crime.

A benefactor hires Philip Sinclair, the best—and handsomest—lawyer in Savannah to defend India. A widower, Philip is struggling to reinvent his worn-out plantation on St. Simons Island. He needs to increase his income from his law practice in order to restore Indigo Point, and hardly anything will bring him more new clients than successfully defending a famous actress on a murder charge.

Because India can’t go anywhere in town without being mobbed, Philip persuades the judge handling her case to let him take her to Indigo Point until her trial date. India is charmed by the beauty of the Georgia lowcountry and is increasingly drawn to Philip. But a locked room that appears to be a shrine to Philip’s dead wife and the unsolved disappearance of a former slave girl raise troubling questions. Piecing together clues in an abandoned boat and a burned-out chapel, India discovers a trail of dark secrets that lead back to Philip, secrets that ultimately may hold the key to her freedom. If only he will believe her.

Dorothy Love will rope you in and prove that actresses can be respectable in her newest historical mystery.  I love the way that she wrote the beginning.  Love starts out with high action and speeds you through a scene, then backs up and shows you the events leading up to that pivotal moment.  She uses that technique several other times in this story, and it’s just as effective each time.

India’s story takes a twisted path as she fights not only to clear her name but also to find love and a future for herself.  She is faced with one crisis right after another, and there’s rarely light in the distance.  It must have been very difficult to put one foot in front of the other during this time, and yet India’s struggle is encouraging in this way.  Her determination and persistence in the light of her bleak future and lack of family is inspiring.

Despite the dire possibilities looming before her, parts of the story moved a bit slowly.  It’s not that things weren’t happening – Love was setting the stage for higher action later – and much of the story consisted of emotional drama.  Still, I was happy when the plot speed increased and the mystery moved along.

The realistic historical setting is my favorite aspect of A Respectable Actress.  While I liked India, Love knocked it out of the park with the history that she incorporated into the story.  She included references to real events in addition to basing certain characters and places ones that actually exist.  I love knowing that these places are real, and Love’s descriptions make me want to take off for Georgia and see what remains.

Dorothy Love is an excellent writer.  She breathes life into history and creates feelings from numbers and facts.  Her storytelling is smooth and she knows how to build suspense.  A Respectable Actress shines the spotlight on a little-known attitude in American history – and it’s fascinating.

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A native of west Tennessee, Dorothy Love makes her home in the Texas hill country with her husband and their golden retriever. An award-winning author of numerous young adult novels, Dorothy made her adult debut with the Hickory Ridge novels. When she isn’t busy writing or researching her next book, Love enjoys hiking, traveling, and hanging out with her husband Ron and their rambunctious golden retriever. The Loves make their home in the Texas hill country.

Find Dorothy online: website, Twitter, Facebook

 

I received a free copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

Overcoming these odds will take more than a miracle drug—it will take a miracle.

The infection wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did. The treatment was supposed to take care of it, but it didn’t. Then Dr. Josh Pearson discovers why—his patients, including the former President of the United States, have been dosed with a different strain of the original virus, one that is universally fatal. The only chance for survival is treatment with an experimental drug, but the manufacturer might already have discarded its supply.

As if treating the President of the United States isn’t stressful enough, the situation goes from bad to worse when Rachel Moore, a nurse Josh is falling in love with, falls ill. With the nation’s eyes on him, Josh must pull off a miracle to save a man who holds a good deal of power and the woman who holds his heart.

Miracle Drug is classic Mabry – suspenseful and completely unpredictable!  I love Mabry’s stories for a few reasons, but primary among them is the fact that I can never pick out the villain and there’s always some sort of shocking twist just before the climax.  I don’t know how Mabry does it, but he’s a master at keeping the whodunit details quiet.

On the flip side, Mabry does not make you bosom buddies with even his main character.  He introduces them slowly and only draws you so close, but his characters are realistic and likeable.  Even though Josh didn’t feel like my best friend, I liked him.  I appreciated the way that Josh worked so hard to be both ethical and medically accurate.  He valued his position and the people around him and always did his best.  I like those traits in a person. 

The basic premise is fascinating – even more so given current events.  That there’s a disease out there that docs can’t cure is scary; that the disease is always fatal makes it worse.  The impending crisis created by the disease adds stress and suspense to the story and makes it much more exciting.

In the back of the book, Mabry included an excerpt from his next book.  I can’t wait to read it, too. 

Miracle Drug melds the best of my favorite genres – crime and science and mystery.  If you enjoy reading any of these, this is definitely a must-read.

Click here to read other reviews of this book or here to purchase your own copy now.

 

Dr. Richard Mabry is a retired physician who writes “medical suspense with heart.” His novels have won multiple awards: a semifinalist for International Thriller Writers’ debut novel; finalists for the Carol Award, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, and Romantic Times’ Reader’s Choice Award; and both finalist and winner of the Selah Award. “Miracle Drug” is his ninth published novel. He and his wife live in Frisco, Texas.

Find Richard online: website, Facebook, Twitter

 

I received a free copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

 

Every choice has a consequence in the explosive conclusion to the Carthage Chronicles as Lisbeth returns to third-century Carthage for a thrilling final adventure.

Thirteen years ago, Lisbeth made an impossible decision—leave third-century Carthage and her husband Cyprian behind for good. She knew it was to protect her daughter Maggie, so Lisbeth gathered the strength to move on with her life.

All these years, Lisbeth has thrown herself into her work and raising her headstrong daughter, all to live up to the promise she made to Cyprian. But Maggie is sick of being protected. In an act of teenage rebellion Maggie decides to do what her mother can’t—secretly returning to the third century on a quest to bring her father back, leaving Lisbeth no choice but to follow.

With Maggie’s surprise arrival in Carthage, chaos ensues. She finds her grandmother on trial for murder and attempts to save her, but instead the diversion sparks a riot that nearly destroys the plagued city. Only one thing will appease the wrath of the new proconsul of Carthage: the death of the instigator.

Will Lisbeth arrive in time to save her daughter from the clutches of Rome? How can God possibly redeem such a slew of unwise decisions and deep regrets? Filled with heart-wrenching twists and riveting action, Valley of Decision brings the romantic adventure epic, The Carthage Chronicles, to an electrifying conclusion.

I’ve always been a sucker for a good time-travel story, but Valley of Decision takes the cake.  Gentry has penned an amazing time-travel romantic thriller – and I didn’t know such a thing existed.  The time travel premise itself is fascinating:  how would a modern American Christian react if plopped down in Carthage in the third century, when Christians were under severe persecution?  Then up the ante – what if the plague is present?  And what if that modern American fell in love with an early Christian bishop?

Those elements are present in each of the three novels in the series, of course, but Gentry has upped the suspense level in Valley of Decision.  There’s the same element of love between two people that existed before, but there’s also love among the Christians and love for other people, even enemies.  There’s a new romantic relationship and old love stories told.  There are the first stories of faith, too, that are sweet and compelling.

Looking at Cyprian’s life through Lisbeth’s eyes is fascinating.  It’s easy to forget how easy we have life here, but the early Christians had much more on their plates.  The situations faced by Cyprian, Barek, and their fellow believers are very provocative.  You won’t be able to put these out of your mind easily.

Not many stories make me cry, but this one did.  I couldn’t put it down and kept hoping that Gentry found a way to manipulate history to give this family a happy ending – and in a way she did, but not the one you expect.  I cried along with the characters in the final chapters.  I couldn’t put this book down and am reluctant to leave them, even though they’re at peace.  I loved Lisbeth’s family and look forward to visiting with them again as I reread their stories in the future.  You will, too.

I received a free copy of Valley of Decision from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

Eva Esch and her sisters are in a predicament. With the passing of their widowed mother, Eva’s older brother Menno plans to move his growing family into the Eden Valley farmhouse where they all grew up, leaving little room for his three single sisters. Surely, Menno reasons, at least one of them will marry this coming wedding season. Eva does hope to marry, but she isn’t sure she wants to give up her sweet shop for the life of a farmer’s wife, and she has no other prospects.

When younger sister, Lily, disappears in the night, leaving only a brief note, Eva fears she has been wooed away from the People by an outsider. And when Jed Stutzman, a young Amish buggy maker from Ohio, shows up in Lancaster with a photo of a Plain young woman, Eva’s world begins to tilt. She feels powerfully drawn to the quietly charming stranger–but the woman in the forbidden photograph is no stranger at all. . . .