Monday, April 7, 2025

Murder on the Steel Pier: A Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery by Rosie Genova ~ #HistoricalMystery

 

Murder on the Steel Pier: A Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery by Rosie Genova

About Murder on the Steel Pier:

Murder on the Steel Pier: A Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery

Historical Mystery

1st in Series

Setting -1955 Atlantic City

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Two Roses Books (March 31, 2025)

Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DS934RJL

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Greetings from the Nifty Fifties…

The morning after a blowout birthday celebration in Atlantic City, crime reporter and party girl Tess Mancini wakes up in an unfamiliar place—1955. Bread is eighteen cents a loaf, Ike occupies the White House, and the Boardwalk is crawling with vintage cars and vintage wise guys. A bewildered Tess is sure of only two things: One, she’s not crazy, and two, the clothes are fabulous. Somehow, she’s living the life of her Great-Aunt Theresa, who disappeared decades before Tess’s birth.

In her 1950s existence, Tess is a reporter at the local newspaper, living at a boarding house owned by her Zia Antonetta, an Italian immigrant with a big secret. It turns out Theresa has a kid brother, teenaged troublemaker Val Mancini—aka Tess’s paternal grandfather. Though determined to return to her own time, Tess’s curiosity takes over. What happened to the first Theresa Mancini? And is Tess’s trip through time connected to her aunt’s fate?

But when young Val is accused of murdering a boarding house guest, a Nazi in hiding, Tess ends up with two investigations on her hands—and is now stuck in time until she can prove Val’s innocence. As she searches for answers, she finds allies in a dishy police detective and a suspiciously charming fellow reporter. The clock is ticking for Tess to find a way home, but first, she has to keep her grandfather off Death Row.

Because before Tess can get back to the future … she needs to make sure she has one.

About Rosie Genova:

Proud Jersey girl Rosie Genova is a multi-genre author. Her work includes a Jersey shore cozy series, The Italian Kitchen Mysteries, and The Tess Mancini Time Travel Mysteries, set in 1955 Atlantic City. She is also the author of standalone suspense and a couple of rom-coms that presently live in her computer files (but are longing to be released into the wild). A former teacher and journalist, Rosie’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of publications, including Entrepreneur magazine and The New York Times. The mother of three sons, Rosie still lives in her favorite state with her husband, too many dusty antiques, and a charming mutt named Lucy.

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Eva is Waiting by Romola Farr ~ #HistoricalThriller ~ @RomolaFarr

Eva is Waiting
Romola Farr
Publication date: February 14th 2025
Genres: Adult, Historical, Thriller

About the Book:

Following the death of her mother, Lily is sent to a remote girls’ boarding school, tearing her away from all the excitement of London in the Swingin’ Sixties. Bereft, she develops a relationship with Rainer, the husband of Sylvia, the headmistress.

One day, Bella, the school Collie, goes missing whilst playing on the shore below sheer cliffs. Despite a rising tide, Lily is determined to find the beautiful dog and discovers her trapped between rocks in a cave. Deepening water swirls around them as her fingertips dig into the sand and touch the smooth surface of what she believes to be an animal skull. From that moment on, she is haunted by a young girl pleading for help.

Lily speaks to her headmistress and learns that eleven years previously a pupil went missing. Eva was a refugee from Hungary, and it was assumed by the police that she had run away.

Forced to stay on at school during the Christmas holiday, Lily is caught between those who know what really happened and wish to silence her, and her determination to end Eva’s wait for justice.

But is history about to repeat itself?

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Read an Excerpt:

‘Don’t you have a heater?’ Lily was lying naked on a worn chaise longue with a gossamer thin veil artistically draped over her.

‘Heat burns out creativity.’ Rainer was sitting on a stool with a large pad on his lap, drawing Lily with a stub of pencil.

‘Am I to freeze my nether regions just for a sketch? I thought I deserved oils.’

‘First, liebling, I make sure I have all the correct proportions in pencil before I commence with charcoal, unless you want to have große Brüste und fette Oberschenkel.’

‘I think I’ve been inoculated against that!’

‘You are very funny.’

‘My mother told me I have a queer sense of humour.’

Rainer got up from the stool and placed the pad and pencil on the seat. He looked at Lily and she felt a surge. Since that amazing night, she had acted upon many urges alone in her room, then had knelt by her bed to pray for forgiveness. In her former school, Miss Rooney had made it clear that self-gratification was against the teachings of Christ.

‘As for adultery and fornication,’ Miss Rooney had said, ‘they are an abomination and will send you straight to hell.’ She had slammed the palm of her hand down on her thigh as she paced about and eyed the young girls seated before her. Young girls who had yet to experience their first period and were still reading books by Enid Blyton.

Well, Lily thought, hell it shall be because she was hooked on the greatest drug of all and despite her belief in God, she would rather face His wrath than become a dried-up old prune like Miss Rooney.

Rainer knelt in front of her, and she felt his warm tobacco breath… so intoxicating. ‘You are beautiful,’ he said.

‘Make love to me,’ she whispered.

‘An artist sleeping with his model is a cliché, is it not?’

‘Call it the Spark effect.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Muriel Spark… she wrote The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. It’s a novella set in a girls’ school. If they ever make it into a film, I want to play Sandy.’

‘Sandy?’

‘She’s the smartest girl in the Brodie set and has an affair with the art master.’

‘Who is very handsome, no doubt.’

‘Of course. Unfortunately, Sandy ends their affair and becomes a Roman Catholic nun.’

He chuckled. ‘Is that your destiny?’

She shrugged. ‘Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.’ She let the veil slip, exposing a youthful breast. ‘My fate is in your hands.’

He repositioned the veil and stepped back.

She forced a smile. ‘So, it’s a nunnery for me then?’

He looked at her. ‘I cannot imagine loving anyone more than I do you.’

‘What about Sylvia?’

‘She saved my life and has given me a future out of reach of the Russian bear.’

Lily wrapped the gauze tightly around her and stood. ‘I’d better go.’

‘Please stay. I owe Sylvia, but I want you.’ He pushed her gently down onto the chaise longue and knelt before her.

Author Bio:

Romola Farr first trod the boards on the West End stage aged sixteen and continued to work for the next eighteen years in theatre, TV and film - and as a photographic model. A trip to Hollywood led to the sale of her first screenplay and a successful change of direction as a screenwriter and playwright. Bridge To Eternity was her debut novel, and Breaking through the Shadows and Where the Water Flows are standalone sequels. All are set in the fictional town of Hawksmead.

Romola Farr is a nom de plume.

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One Sharp Stitch (A Nimble Needle Mystery) by Allie Pleiter ~ Cozy Mystery

 

One Sharp Stitch (A Nimble Needle Mystery) by Allie Pleiter

About One Sharp Stitch:

One Sharp Stitch (A Nimble Needle Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

1st in Series

Setting - North Carolina

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies (March 25, 2025)

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496752007

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496752000

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DB3CD9GB

Audio CD ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DSYHJN3R

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When thirty-something Shelby Phillips returns to her quiet hometown just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, she reluctantly takes over her mother’s Nimble Needle needlepoint shop—and gets entangled in a murder investigation . . .

It’s only temporary. That’s what Shelby Phillips tells herself when she returns to excruciatingly harmless Gwen Lake after her graphic arts career—and the office romance blooming with it—get tossed like rejected design mockups. Her plan is as simple and fool-proof as a tent stitch: manage the family needlepoint shop during her parents’ RV vacation. It’s just a month. It’s not as if they’re retiring . . . right?

When Shelby becomes responsible for hosting a trunk show with local vendors, she’s determined to pull it off. Even if that means dealing with former classmate Kat Katsaros, a rising entrepreneur specializing in needlework scissors. Kat has changed since high school—and she’s angling to take over the Nimble Needle herself. The tension unspools when Shelby makes a terrible discovery on the morning of the event: Kat’s dead body.

Shelby can’t believe the death was an accident. That’s why she’s set on exposing who committed the murder with Kat’s own equipment. She finds help in a new friend, a potential crush, and the surprising support of her sister and the Nimble Needle stitchers. Still, Shelby must move quickly to stop the crafty culprit before her maybe not-so-temporary new life in Gwen Lake comes apart at the seams . . .

About Allie Pleiter:

An avid crafter, coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better,” Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four books at a time. The bestselling author of over sixty books, Allie has enjoyed a twenty-plus year career with over 1.8 million books sold. In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on the creative process, publishing, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers. She lives in the Charlotte area with her husband and the world’s most adorable dog.

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Friday, April 4, 2025

#BookReview ~ Together Again at the Cornish Country Hospital by Jo Bartlett ~ @J_B_Writer @rararesources @BoldwoodBooks #WomensFiction #SecondChanceRomance #Romance


Together Again at the Cornish Country Hospital


About the Book:

A lost love…

A&E Nurse Amy Spencer lives a very ordinary life in Port Kara. She loves her job at the hospital and has a great group of friends, but there is something or someone, missing from her life. Amy’s tried dating but no one ever compares with the one boy that got away – Lijah Byrne.

A surprise arrival…

Lijah’s life since he left Port Kara has been what dreams are made of. But lately Lijah has started to feel hollow – the fame and celebrity he once craved now makes him feel trapped. The only place he’s ever felt safe is Port Kara…so maybe it’s time to go back home?

A reunion written in the stars.

When Amy bumps into Lijah again, she only sees the boy she once loved with all her heart. But their lives are so different now. Amy knows a rekindling of their past love will end in heartbreak, but she can’t give up her second chance to be with the man she loves.

My Review:

Together Again at the Cornish Country Hospital is the fifth Cornish Country Hospital novel. I haven't read the previous four books in the series but I will definitely going back to the beginning. 

Childhood sweethearts Amy and Lijah, now a nurse and a musician respectively, are reunited when Lijah comes back home to take a break and reevaluate his life. Lijah has always been Amy's one who got away but they are so different now. As they come back together, Lijah and Amy realize there is still that spark between then. 

Together Again at the Cornish Country Hospital is a great second chance romance. I love the characters and the setting. I'm sure many of the characters I met along the way were featured in previous books, and it would be nice to get to know them in the proper order. The author wrote this story with realism, and it's very emotional in places. 

I was provided with a copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.


My Rating:




Purchase Link:


Meet the Author:


Jo Bartlett was born a stone’s throw from the English Channel and still lives near the sea in Kent, with her family, so close to the South Eastern edge of England that they're very nearly French. It's probably why so many of her books are set near the sea too. Jo has made up stories for as long as she can remember, but never really took it any further, until a catalyst called cancer gave her the impetus to follow her dreams.

Since having her debut novel published in 2015, Jo has had numerous bestsellers in the UK, the USA, Australia and Canada, including a UK Top 10. Jo writes contemporary women’s fiction, with stories that focus on love, friendship, family and community. Since joining Boldwood Books in 2021, Jo has had twelve bestselling novels across The Cornish Midwife and Cornish Country Hospital series.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: @JoBartlettAuthor

Twitter: @J_B_Writer

Instagram: @jo_bartlett_author

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BookBub profile: @JoBartlett


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