Book Review | “Search for the Truth” by Kathryn Freeman #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 17 September, 2016 by jorielov ChocLitUK, Kathryn Freeman, Search for the Truth 2 Comments

Why I feature #ChocLitSaturdays (book reviews & guest author features)
and created #ChocLitSaturday (the chat via @ChocLitSaturday):

I wanted to create a bit of a niche on Jorie Loves A Story to showcase romance fiction steeped in relationships, courtships, and the breadth of marriage enveloped by characters written honestly whose lives not only endear you to them but they nestle into your heart as their story is being read!

I am always seeking relationship-based romance which strikes a chord within my mind’s eye as well as my heart! I’m a romantic optimist, and I love curling into a romance where I can be swept inside the past, as history becomes lit alive in the fullness of the narrative and I can wander amongst the supporting cast observing the principal characters fall in love and sort out if they are a proper match for each other!

I love how an Indie Publisher like ChocLitUK is such a positive alternative for those of us who do not identify ourselves as girls and women who read ‘chick-lit’. I appreciate the stories which alight in my hands from ChocLit as much as I appreciate the inspirational romances I gravitate towards because there is a certain level of depth to both outlets in romance which encourage my spirits and gives me a beautiful story to absorb! Whilst sorting out how promote my book reviews on behalf of ChocLit, I coined the phrase “ChocLitSaturdays”, which is a nod to the fact my ChocLit reviews & features debut on ‘a Saturday’ but further to the point that on the ‘weekend’ we want to dip into a world wholly ideal and romantic during our hours off from the work week!

Acquired Book By: I am a regular reviewer for ChocLitUK, where I hand select which books in either their backlist and/or current releases I would like to read next for my #ChocLitSaturdays blog feature. As of June 2016, I became a member of the ChocLit Stars Team in tandem with being on the Cover Reveal Team which I joined in May 2016. I reference the Stars as this is a lovely new reader contribution team of sending feedback to the publisher ahead of new book releases. As always, even if I’m involved with a publisher in this sort of fashion, each review is never influenced by that participation and will always be my honest impression as I read the story. Whether the author is one I have previously read or never had the pleasure to read until the book greets my shelf.

I received a complimentary copy of “Search for the Truth” from ChocLit in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. I previously had the joy of celebrating the Cover Reveal for this novel and I was most happy I could finally read the story!

Why I was so very keen on reading this Contemporary!

My best friend from high school went into the Pharmacy Industry, and coincidentally we reconnected after a long search to find each other again whilst she was at the latter stage of graduating as a pharmacist. I still remember our long conversations on the phone about the particulars of what was involved with her studies and how her impression of pharmacy had changed since before she started her studies; as the industry wasn’t quite what she imagined it was to be. I could sympathise as sometimes our initial impressions about something does not match or hold up against further enquiries and research. I oft think about her as she has a demanding schedule of hours and responsibilities, I had hoped might have calmed down after her last promotion.

Even before we reconnected and I knew of her path, I sometimes have found myself intrigued to find stories of women who are working inside this field, as the last time I connected to a story, it was through an indie film starring Katherine Heigl (Side Effects | info on Wikipedia). What I appreciated about Search for the Truth is how it digs into the gritty realities of what is being created and how what is being created may or may not be conducive to keeping a Pharma company on the right side of ‘first do no harm’. I felt seeing how Freeman layered the story whilst building the relationship tension at the same time would prove to be a wicked good read, as it would be anchoured in the reality of an industry few write about and grounded by how life evolves out of ordinary hours. A good time to percolate drama and convincing situations where hard choices would surely need to be made!

I like reading romantic dramas sometimes over romantic comedies, because they dig into the harder issues and they takeaway a part of humanity that might always be cut clear and crystal; there are different ways to approach the stories, and seeing how a writer will make choices for her characters but also for her evolving story of intrigue is what holds me to the pages. I am quite eager to see this going into print (hopefully next year!) so that I can see how Tess finds her mission to uncover the truth might not be as easy to do as she first suspected it could be. The title alone points to the plausible path of finding that truth and supposition can be blinding.

-quoted from my Cover Reveal post for Search for the Truth

Search for the Truth
by Kathryn Freeman
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Berni Stevens
Source: Direct from Publisher

Sometimes the truth hurts…

When journalist Tess Johnson takes a job at Helix pharmaceuticals, she has a very specific motive. Tess has reason to believe the company are knowingly producing a potentially harmful drug and, if her suspicions are confirmed, she will stop at nothing to make sure the truth comes out.

Jim Knight is the president of research and development at Helix and is a force to be reckoned with. After a disastrous office affair he’s determined that nothing else will distract him from his vision for the company. Failure is simply not an option. As Tess and Jim start working together, both have their reasons for wanting to ignore the sexual chemistry that fires between them. But chemistry, like most things in the world of science, isn’t always easy to control.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Book Page on ChocLitUK

ISBN: 9781781893029

Also by this author: Search for the Truth Cover Reveal, Before You Cover Reveal, A Second Christmas Wish Cover Reveal, Before You, A Second Christmas Wish

Published by ChocLitUK

on 7th July, 2016

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 288

Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLitUK)

Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook

Genre(s): Contemporary | BigPharma | Suspense | Corporate Espionage

Converse via: #ChocLit

About Kathryn Freeman

Kathryn was born in Wallingford, England but has spent most of her life living in a village near Windsor. After studying pharmacy in Brighton she began her working life as a retail pharmacist. She quickly realised that trying to decipher doctor’s handwriting wasn’t for her and left to join the pharmaceutical industry where she spent twenty happy years working in medical communications. In 2011, backed by her family, she left the world of pharmaceutical science to begin life as a self-employed writer, juggling the two disciplines of medical writing and romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero…

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to bother buying a card again this year (yes, he does) the romance in her life is all in her head. Then again, her husband’s unstinting support of her career change goes to prove that love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes can come in many disguises.

Posted Saturday, 17 September, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, British Literature, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Contemporary Romance, Espionage, Indie Author, Modern British Author, Modern British Literature, Modern Day, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Vulgarity in Literature

Author Interview | Alyson Peterson talks about her #YALit series “Ian Quicksilver” as the sequel releases this September “The Cursed Dagger”.

Posted Wednesday, 14 September, 2016 by jorielov Alyson Peterson, Cedar Fort Inc, Ian Quicksilver, Ian Quicksilver series, Sweetwater Books, The Cursed Dagger 0 Comments

My connection to the author: Last year, I had a conversation with Ms Peterson whilst I was composing my thoughts on my review but it did not influence my reaction and/or change my honest opinion of the novel; something I disclosed at the top of my review for ‘Ian Quicksilver: The Warrior’s Return’. Since then, I’ve only touched based with the author off and on a few times in the interim, as we’re connected through Twitter. It’s always nice to keep in touch with an author you appreciate reading but also a renewed joy if you make a personal connection too. I am thankful my path crossed with Ms Peterson on the tour last year, and for the private conversations we’ve exchanged.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with Ms Peterson through our respective love & passion of reading inside the twitterverse as well as privately; I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. Similarly this applies to all future novels I read by an author I appreciate reading due to the compelling story-lines and characters they continuously bring to their novels and/or novellas.

On returning to the world of Quicksilver:

I must admit, my return to the world of Quicksilver did not quite go as I had anticipated as I personally found myself unable to finish reading the story once I reached Chapter 15 and a few pages forward when the ‘cursed dagger’ is revealled. There is an invisible boundary for all of us as readers – I happen to delve into most of what concerns me as a reader on my Review Policy whilst remaining open to stories as a reader who does consistently push herself out of her comfort zones to entertain new authors and new styles of the writer’s craft – where story-telling can become uniquely original and individual.

Having said that, for me, I have been a sensitive reader since I was a young girl – this hasn’t changed as I’ve transitioned into an adult reader. There will always be those stories that I have such an itch and thirst to read that are going to disappoint me – either by tone or by inclusion of elements that I personally consider outside the boundaries of where I want to be taken visually, metaphorically and fictionally. We all have those key triggers where sometimes literature is just taken too far for us to personally enjoy what is left behind for us to find. This sadly was the case for me when I read The Cursed Dagger, as outlined on my review.

I respect the author reaching out to me after I posted my review, including being open with me about what inspired Ian Quicksilver as a character and as a series for Young Adults, but even after knowing the back-story which is not disclosed in the books themselves, I cannot return where I left the book itself. You see, for me, it was physically nauseating to read those passages – I honestly was so struck by shock, that I physically reacted and emotionally I honestly felt crushed. These were characters I had loved in the first novel and were grieved by what was happening in the sequel. Visually, I simply did not have the stomach to see what was coming next because there is this particular moment where Ian is attacked and it is that that point where I had to turn away from the book! I was so shaken by that scene and everything else I had mentioned on my review, that for me, it was too much to process.

I approach Young Adult Lit from a unique perspective – I originally started to read Young Adult and Middle Grade novels to inspire stories for my nieces and nephews to read themselves. Somewhere in the pursuit of that goal, I ended up falling back in love with these beautifully lovely sections of literature myself. So much so, I fully recaptured my own bookish joy and readerly innocence that I had as an 10, 11, 12 and 13 year old. I love internalising a story written for children as an adult whose childhood is very much still a part of her heart and spirit. I love to see the stories I will one day be recommending for my own future children whilst picking up where I left off with my own readings as well.

The exit I am having with the Quicksilver series was something that blindsided me – it truly was a series I loved reading last year, but this year, I had to let it go. It will find flight to other readers who may not be as sensitive to certain inclusions of scenes and incidents as I am. That’s okay. We all like different stories from one another. We’d be very boring as readers to love all the stories that reach our hands, hearts and imaginations. There will be a piece of Ari and Ian that remain with me – I fondly remember what it was like to meet them originally and I have 14 chapters of the sequel where I was walking beside them, rallying behind them and hoping they would overcome their new adversities.

Prior to reaching Chapter 15, I composed this interview. I yielded to the author if she still wanted me to run it as part of the tour as I know authors react differently to different reviews, especially if a prior reader who cherished their book(s) had to discontinue reading successive editions. Ms Peterson accepted my honesty and the ruminations I’ve left behind to explain what happened in the midst of my readings whilst giving me this conversation to share with you. For those of you on the Quicksilver blog tour, I know you will especially enjoy it as she hints towards what is coming up next in books three and four! For those of you arriving outside of the tour, may this be a book you will enjoy as it’s now one of the books I’ve met that is seeking love from other readers!

One note: for me I felt this as a despotic world due to how heavy the darker lines were drawn around Puckerbush; for me this is what Dystopia would feel and look like where most of the light and hope of the world is blinked out of sight. There are a few streaks of it left, but for the most part it’s a harsher environment and the conditions of the towne just felt Dystopic to me.

Posted Wednesday, 14 September, 2016 by jorielov in 21st Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Bullies and the Bullied, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Fantasy Fiction, Foster Care, Humour & Satire in Fiction / Non Fiction, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern Day, Orphans & Guardians, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Science Fantasy, Small Towne USA, Supernatural Fiction, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction

Blog Book Tour | “The Cursed Dagger” (Book No.2 of the Ian Quicksilver series!) by Alyson Peterson

Posted Tuesday, 13 September, 2016 by jorielov Alyson Peterson, Cedar Fort Inc, Ian Quicksilver, Ian Quicksilver series, Sweetwater Books, The Cursed Dagger 2 Comments

Acquired Book By: I have been a blog tour hostess with Cedar Fort for the past two years, wherein I took a brief hiatus from hosting before resuming this August 2016. I appreciate the diversity of the stories the Indie publisher is publishing per year, not only for fiction and non-fiction but for healthy eats within their Front Table Books (cookbooks). I appreciate their dedication to writing general market, INSPY reads and LDS focused stories across the genres they publish.

I was selected to be a part of the “The Cursed Dagger” blog tour wherein I received a complimentary copy of “The Cursed Dagger” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (an imprint of Cedar Fort Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein

On returning to the world of Quicksilver:

The Warrior’s Return has a lot of undercurrent themes running into the narrative arc and giving readers a bit of an insight on how our differences are not meant to divide us but unite us. We’re different from each other because we each have something unique to contribute to the whole. It’s how we choose to focus on our strengths and embrace our faults is a mark of our character as much as it is a growth of maturity. I appreciated seeing how Peterson took two characters who were on the fringes of ‘coming-of age’ and instilled in them a grounding sense of who they could be simply by observing how someone else ‘saw them’ and understood them in a way they hadn’t felt would be possible.

Peterson gives her readers a wicked keen treat by inventing telepathic writing as a mode of communication when people are out of sight but not out of mind. I won’t say more about it because I don’t want to spoilt it for you, but let’s just say it takes telepathy to a new height of curious possibility! I also love the elements of TK (telekinesis) she’s knitted into the story inasmuch as the electrical hypersensitive paragifted capabilities of Ari’s hidden talent. This last element reminded of why I was wicked excited to read The Last Gatekeeper by Katy Haye. When it comes to manipulation of energy and sources of energy story-lines can jump into a mecca of interesting realms, because how energy can be shifted between stability and instability has the most intrigue for a reader. To gain access to a power source where energy in it’s rarest form can be harnessed and then re-distributed or altered to a level of power that is controllable to the person whose gifted with the talent is inspiring narrative. It’s also the cross-bridge uniting Fantasy with Science Fiction fusing it’s own new genre of ‘Sci-Fantasy’. (or in other words, Jorie’s newest sub-genre of interest!)

Enter the newfound reality of being a long-lost son of a King from a world known as ‘Bankhir’ whose sisterly bond to ‘Garfel’ is about to become a delicate race against time. The rulers of both decided the only way to save their worlds and to restore peace were to cast out two of their own into a world far removed from their societies intensive war, vying a hope towards re-setting the peace when the boy and girl return home. Only these are not ordinary planets like Earth or even Saturn, no these two are co-dependent on each other due to how the magic of their powers are generated and controlled.

What I appreciated about Peterson is her exclusion of strong language and opted instead to take a sociological-psychological approach to understanding Ian. She writes with a true focus on where he is right now as far as his maturity and development, but also, on the internal struggle for acceptance on self-image, self-esteem, and self-confidence. The kinds of issues most teens face but it’s how she wrote about them that endeared me to the novel’s heart because she’s approaching it with a mindfulness about how boys view the world vs how boys view themselves. This insight I know is intrinsic to the author as she’s a Mum of boys, but evenso, I think she might have understood them even if she weren’t!

-quoted from my review of Ian Quicksilver: The Warrior’s Return

The Warriors Return is like walking up to a precipice and only seeing half the world:

This was my takeaway moment of clarity at the bottom of my review last year, however, it is keenly intrinsically tied to the series as far as the scope of the world and the measurement of what is at stake. You can look at the world from one angle but until someone is able to bend that perspective and wholly refract back a different perspective, your knowledge remains limited. Thus, whilst you think you understand the world in which Quicksilver lives, it’s only through one lens of references until the fullness of his world expands and contracts to become something much larger than what is superficial seen.

The Cursed Dagger
Subtitle: Never Accept a Challenge without Knowing the Rules : from the author of Ian Quicksilver
by Alyson Peterson
Source: Direct from Publisher

Genres: Action & Adventure Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Sci-Fantasy, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781462118656

Also by this author: Ian Quicksilver: The Warrior's Return, Author Interview (The Cursed Dagger)

Series: Ian Quicksilver

Also in this series: Ian Quicksilver: The Warrior's Return

Published by Sweetwater Books

on 1st September, 2016

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 320

Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #IanQuicksilver

About Alyson Peterson

Alyson Peterson lives in a mountainside gully –of all places– in northern Utah with her neurotic, shed-tastic dog, two ninja kids, and superhero husband. She spends her time painting, breaking bones at her Martial Arts class (mostly her own) and reading as many books as she can get her hands on.

Posted Tuesday, 13 September, 2016 by jorielov in 21st Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Bullies and the Bullied, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Fantasy Fiction, Foster Care, Humour & Satire in Fiction / Non Fiction, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern Day, Orphans & Guardians, Science Fantasy, Small Towne USA, Supernatural Fiction, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction

Blog Book Tour | “The Duke’s Last Hunt” by Rosanne E. Lortz Jorie happily returns to the Regency, the era she initially beloved for reading Rom!

Posted Saturday, 10 September, 2016 by jorielov Jane Austen, Lauren Willig, Madison Street Publishing, Mary Jo Putney, Rosanne E. Lortz, Scott D. Southard, The Duke's Last Hunt 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “The Duke’s Last Hunt” direct from the publisher Madison Street Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

I have had a penchant for the Regency for all of my life:

When I was a young girl of nine, I became positively enraptured by the stories of both the Regency and Victorian eras of England! A passion for Rom developed and quite naturally I felt wholly entrenched inside both eras! So much so, I regularly sought them out! Including the special edition Christmas Regency novella collections such as the ones featuring Mary Jo Putney (of The Word Wenches; a blog I love reading!) Throughout my readerly life, the Regency has attracted me not only for the chivalry and the manners involved in courtship, but for the arc of how a Romance can be told in a historical setting with in-bred social norms which are wicked strict for men and women!

Layer in the country vs the city (or ‘the towne’ as off London was referred) settings, the backdrops of the fashion and the coquettish of the chase during the infamous London Season, and you find all the delights of a Rom Comedy or Drama depending on the author’s preferences! I liked how some of the girls were either besotted by the blokes or completely averse to the whole situation; others as said played the ‘coquette’ flirtatious card or chose to feel doomed in their pursuit of a suitable husband! Others oft-times completely struck out on their own – re-defining how a woman could step forward out of girlhood and take-on a different approach to living once she was of age. Either way you slice it, there was always something wickedly entertaining about reading a story set during this timescape! Even Jane Austen found everyday humour in the contemporary norms of her day, yet the Regency is such a full step removed from our own living reality, the indulgences of a Regency novel affords a brilliantly enjoyable read! Especially if you have a questionable dowry, an unknown parentage (ooh my!), or were turnt away from a suitable match during your 1st or 2nd or successive ‘Seasons’!

I was first introduced to this publisher via a conversation I had with one of their authors Scott D. Southard about his novel A Jane Austen Daydream. At the time, print copies were not available and this is why I had leapt at a chance to read this one! I have been so very curious about this publisher for two solid years! I still very much intend to read A Jane Austen Daydream (despite appearances to the contrary!), it is simply I haven’t been able to focus on Classical Lit or their after canons for quite a long while. A trend I am determined to break this September by continuing to read Jane Eyre whilst getting set for some wicked sweet Austen readings lateron before the close of 2016!

When I realised this was a Rom Suspense (#RomSusp) for the Regency, I was most intrigued! I have already realised I fancy the mysteries by Lauren Willig in her Pink Carnation series (which starts off being quite the light read before it turns more serious (her words, I’m still in the beginning novels!) – I used to love visiting the author on her blog where she would reveal so very much to her readers!) I generally had only focused on the traditional Regency Roms, but I must confess, if I can find a wicked told Mystery, I’m a reader whose thoroughly entertained! Thus, this felt like a new direction of focus I could seek out within the Regencies I already knew I fancied! I wonder if others are more confined by the tradition of a Regency Rom and/or are as adventurous as I am whilst finding new authors who delight them with their yesteryear stories!?

The Duke's Last Hunt
Subtitle: A Novel of Romantic Suspense
by Rosanne E. Lortz
Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

With her third London season drawing to a close, the shy Eliza Malcolm seems unlikely to find any husband, let alone a titled one. But when the hunting-crazed Duke of Brockenhurst invites the Malcolms to visit Harrowhaven, Eliza’s father jumps at the chance to gain a wealthy son-in-law. Surrounded by quarreling parents, tactless acquaintances, the aloof dowager, and the unsettling duke, Eliza looks for one person kind enough to help her navigate the murky waters of Harrowhaven’s secrets….

Estranged from his brother the duke, Henry Rowland only planned to visit Harrowhaven for the afternoon, but after meeting his brother’s intended, his designs are overthrown. As misfortune strikes Harrowhaven, Jacob Pevensey is called in to investigate. Henry learns that the only way to safeguard Eliza Malcolm’s happiness is to face the past he has been running from for ten long years.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9780996264839

Also in this series: To Wed an Heiress, A Duel for Christmas, A Duel for Christmas

Published by Madison Street Publishing

on 1st September, 2016

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 348

Published By: Madison Street Publishing (@MStPublishing)

The author’s first Regency was To Wed an Heiress | Synopsis

*UPDATE: October, 2018 – this became the series: Pevensey Mysteries

Converse via: #HistoricalRom, #HistoricalSuspense, #Regency, #RomSusp
Available Formats: Paperback and E-Book

About Rosanne E. Lortz

Rosanne E. Lortz (“Rose”) is a history lover, a book addict, a mom to four boys, and a native of Portland, Oregon. When she’s not writing, she teaches Latin and English composition and works as an editor at Madison Street Publishing.

Rosanne’s works include I Serve: A Novel of the Black Prince, Road from the West: Book I of the Chronicles of Tancred, The Life and Death of Saint Thomas Becket: Type of Paul, Type of Peter, Type of Christ, Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors (Vol 1 & 2), To Wed an Heiress, and the newly published The Duke’s Last Hunt.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | LibraryThing

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Saturday, 10 September, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, ARC | Galley Copy, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Castles & Estates, Clever Turns of Phrase, Deception Before Matrimony, England, Family Drama, Father-Daughter Relationships, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Inheritance & Identity, London, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, the Regency era

Blog Book Tour | “Death at the Paris Exposition” (Book No.6 of the Emily Cabot Mysteries) by Frances McNamara Better known as the new Cosy Historical Mystery series Jorie cannot wait to read in full!

Posted Friday, 9 September, 2016 by jorielov Allium Press of Chicago, Anna Lee Huber, Aunt Dimity series, Bess Crawford mysteries, Coffeehouse mysteries, Death at the Paris Exposition, Deeanne Gist, Emily Cabot Mysteries, Frances McNamara, Lady Darby Mysteries 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “Death at the Paris Exposition” direct from the author Frances McNamara in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

The reason why I wanted to read a new Cosy Historical Mystery series:

Hallo, dear hearted readers – My interest in reading this book is multi-layered to be honest! My grandparents attended the World’s Fair in Chicago in the early 20th Century (see also this article), and had passed down their memories and enthusiasm about attending the event at young ages. I was equally fascinated by World Fairs for as long as I can remember – as I learnt of them in a joint (class) discussion between my Science & History studies in middle school. To attend an event like that and see first-hand the innovation and invention arriving new to the world – had to be immediately awe-inspiring! This fond fascination of my own, predated my knowledge of my grandparents attendance! On the same vein of thought, my favourite bits of Epcot to visit as a child were Innoventions, Journey into Imagination with Figment, World of Motion, Universe of Energy and of course I loved Tomorrowland at Disney! Lest I mention how much I loved Robin Williams exhibit as his character came alive in Tomorrowland as “the Timekeeper”!

I have always marvelled at innovations – to be on the brink of something radically dynamic and new to shape the tomorrows of the future has always endeared my curiosity and enriched my imagination! How could it not!?

I have wanted to seek out literature about the Fairs for a long while. Further encouraged when I attended the BookTalk Nation chat (between readers & writers – BookTalk Nation was a wicked pro-positive event encouraging book discussions openly between the bookish!) with Deeanne Gist! She was releasing her own novel at the time about the Chicago World’s Fair: It Happened at the Fair! She revealled that the inspiration for “The Wizard of Oz” was tied to the same fair – imagine!? I am still a few releases behind this one in my readings of her stories, but I have happily earmarked this one to read once I arrive back inside my readings! There are other one-offs and series I’d love to seek out inasmuch as non-fiction releases that might talk about the World Fairs & Expositions in greater scope – as it’s simply a topic of living history I love uncovering!

Counter-current to this interest is my on-going passion and pursuit of finding Cosy Historical Mysteries – not entirely focused on one-offs necessarily, as I much prefer the breadth of serial fiction – I wanted to take a chance on the Emily Cabot Mysteries all the same! At the time when I signed up to participate in the tour – I had fully intended to borrow the first book in the series – Death at the Fair – via inter-library loan! However, this Summer I had my hands full dealing with tech issues, connectivity difficulties, an ant invasion and enough lightning storms to wish I lived somewhere that had more blizzards than lightning; snow I can handle! Lightning? Oy vie.

Similar to how I entered the Coffeehouse Mysteries (by Cleo Coyle) and the Bess Crawford Mysteries (by Charles Todd) – so too, is my entrance a bit of field of sequence with the Emily Cabot Mysteries! I rarely brake a series order – by sometimes life has a way of interrupting your plans! To say I was most eager to meet my next spunky female sleuth would be putting it mildly, dear hearts! Oh! Reading mysteries is as regenerative as a cuppa of tea!

Death at the Paris Exposition
Subtitle: An Emily Cabot Mystery

Amateur sleuth Emily Cabot’s journey once again takes her to a world’s fair–the Paris Exposition of 1900. Chicago socialite Bertha Palmer is named the only female U. S. commissioner to the Exposition and enlists Emily’s services as her secretary.

Their visit to the House of Worth for the fitting of a couture gown is interrupted by the theft of Mrs. Palmer’s famous pearl necklace. Before that crime can be solved, several young women meet untimely deaths and a member of the Palmer’s inner circle is accused of the crimes.

As Emily races to clear the family name she encounters jealous society ladies, American heiresses seeking titled European husbands, and more luscious gowns and priceless jewels. Along the way, she takes refuge from the tumult at the country estate of Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. In between her work and sleuthing, she is able to share the Art Nouveau delights of the Exposition, and the enduring pleasures of the City of Light with her family.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9780996755832

on 1st September, 2016

Pages: 278

Published By: Allium Press of Chicago (@alliumpress)

Author’s page on Allium Press of Chicago

The Emily Cabot Mysteries:

Death at the Fair | No. 1 | Synopsis

Death at Hull House | No. 2 | Synopsis

Death at Pullman | No. 3| Synopsis

Death at Woods Hole | No. 4 | Synopsis

Death at Chinatown | No. 5 | Synopsis

Death at the Paris Exposition | No. 6 | this review!

Converse via: #HistoricalMystery, #HistMyst, #CosyMystery + #HistFic
Available Formats: Paperback and E-Book

About Frances McNamara

Frances McNamara grew up in Boston, where her father served as Police Commissioner for ten years. She has degrees from Mount Holyoke and Simmons Colleges, and formerly worked as a librarian at the University of Chicago. When not working or writing she can be found sailing on the Charles River in Boston or beaching on Cape Cod.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Friday, 9 September, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Amateur Detective, Art History, Based on an Actual Event &/or Court Case, Berta Honore Palmer, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, France, French Literature, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Historical Mystery, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, Mary Cassatt, Passionate Researcher, Sociological Behavior, the Nineteen Hundreds