My Two Blessings

  Synopsis :  Estranged from his wife and daughter, former undercover cop Mark Mallen has spent the last four years in a haze of heroin.  When his best friend from the academy, Eric Russ, is murdered, all the evidence points to Mallen as the primer suspect.  Now Mallen's former colleagues on the force are turning up the heat and Russ's survivors are asking him to come up with some answers. But if he wants to serve justice to the real killer, Mallen knows he'll have to get clean.  Turning a life around is hard work for a junkie, especially when a gang of low-life thugs wants him dead.  Bruised, battered, and written off by nearly everyone, can Mallen keep clean and catch a killer? Untold Damage is a dark and gritty murder mystery and once I started reading it, didn't want to stop, even though it had me cringing at times with the graphic descriptions of heroin use.  The main character, Mark Mallen was an undercover cop, and after getting addicted t...

Synopsis : When Evie Ferrante learns that her mother has been hospitalized, she finds her mother’s house in chaos. Sorting through her mother’s belongings, Evie discovers objects that don’t quite belong there, and begins to raise questions. Evie renews a friendship with Mina, an elderly neighbor who might know more about her mother’s recent activities, but Mina is having her own set of problems: Her nephew Brian is trying to persuade her to move to a senior care community. As Evie investigates her mother’s actions, a darker story of deception and madness involving Mina emerges. I love psychological thrillers and happened to stumble across Hallie Ephron's Never Tell a Lie and after reading it, wanted to read more, so was thrilled I received an email with William Morrow's offerings for the month and There Was an Old Woman was on the list.  It is one of those unputdownable books that'll make you want to read it over again to see if you can pick up the clues that...

The House at the End of Hope Street Synopsis: Knocked off kilter by the Worst Event of Her LIfe, Alba Ashby finds herself in front of a house in Cambridge, England, that she's never seen before. There, a beautiful older woman invites her to say on the house's usual conditions--she'll have ninety nine nights, and no more, to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba takes a chance and moves in. She soon discovers that 11 Hope Street is no ordinary House. Past residents have included Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Parker, how have hung around to help newcomers---literally, in talking portraits on the wall. Here Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds---maybe even save her life.      Imagine a magical house that only becomes visible when you most need it and provides you with the things you need most to figure out what to do with your life. Little notes full of words of wisdom fall from the ceiling, living portraits of past occupants more th...

It's been incredibly windy the past couple days.  I was in the kitchen yesterday morning when heard a tremendous bang.  Walked outside to discover the birch tree had attacked my car. It could have been worse and gone through the windshield or completely through the hood. Fortunately, even though my car is 16 years old, it still in really good shape and have comprehensive coverage.  Though it doesn't look so bad, the repair will cost $1000.   So my insurance company will be taking care of the damage (minus the deductible of course) and I get the fun of driving a rental car for three days while the body shop does the repairs. Thank you USAA - I love you!

July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth: “Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war. . . . None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face.” The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues...

Synopsis:  In a trade-off she’s lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved.  For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever.  Will fate once again separate them—or is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers?  I read very few contemporary romances, but when I do, one of my go to authors is Sherryl Woods. Her stories are relationship driven with characters who are interesting with complicated lives, yet  far from perfect .  She has released a new trilogy Ocean Breezes about 3 sisters set in a ...