In Transit

Kathleen Gerard

Five Star

ISBN-13: 978-1-59414-966-5

$25.95

282 pages

Reviewed by Amanda Capper

In Transit is designated as a Romantic Suspense, but I’d be tempted to file it under Educational Literature. A well-written manual instructing young women what to look for in a man they shouldn’t marry.

Unfortunately Rita Del Vecchio didn’t have a manual. The heroine of In Transit had to learn the hard way, but what did she expect? Her reason for joining the New York Police Department was to meet men, hardly a noble cause, but give her points for honesty. And meet them she did; the good, the bad and everything in between. Problem was she couldn’t tell one from the other.

Kathleen Gerard does a good job depicting the characters in this book. You get involved with them and want to know what happens to them. That’s what an author wants; to keep the reader interested. And I was, but not right away. The start was a little too cliché for me, but once past the first chapter, I was hooked. The character development of Rita and Billy was believable, well-constructed and covered their complex relationship very well.

It’s hard to review a book without going into details. I don’t want to give away plots and spoil endings, so I’m going to try the age-old rating system of giving stars. I would give In Transit three out of five stars, with the recommendation of keeping an eye out for further novels by Kathleen Gerard. I believe her stars will increase.

Copyright © 2011 Amanda Capper

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.

ISBN: 978-1594147173

Five Star Publishing
Hardcover, 376 pages
$25.95

Reviewed by Crystal Guess

When the book Royal Escape by Susan Froetschel was presented to me, my “inner little girl” squealed in excitement. A book about a princess! Of course then that spoilsport “inner adult” reared her head and pointed out that the main character was based on a beloved childhood heroine, Princess Diana. The notion made me establish high expectations despite the cynical little voice in the back of my head that has witnessed me throw many a book and movie into my closet in broken-hearted frustration.

Thirty-six sleepless, over-caffeinated hours later I was on the phone with my mother, a fellow bibliophile, telling her that I had a book she had to read. Right now.

Royal Escape begins with a prologue that features Derrick Wilson, Lady Elena, Princess of Wales’ solicitor. We meet him on memory lane and are thus introduced to Elena through his recollections of her; however, we part rather abruptly with Mr. Wilson when he is murdered in his office. The killers flee into the night and we can only read as they go before our attention is diverted to a pair of servants scathingly criticizing the flower-arranging skills of the lady we figuratively came to see.

Elena is anxiously awaiting a call from her just-nearly-ex-mother-in-law, the queen, when we readers join her. Like many women in the same situation (divorce), her biggest concern is for her children. It is clear from the start that her two sons, Richard and Larry, are her number one priority and were it not for them she would have taken leave of the Wyndham family a good while before, since the Wyndhams quite obviously have no affection for her. To them she is a commoner who will do anything to steal the spotlight, though that is far from the truth.

Her concerns become greater than making sure she stands in the proper corner of the garden or staying out of pictures with her sons to please the royals after she unwittingly escapes a car bomb. The incident puts a further gap between her and her boys, who were supposed to leave with her that day but did not, and for their safety she complies with the separation for a little while. Things get worse when the few people who Elena trusts are going the way of Mr. Wilson and are dying suddenly until she is utterly isolated in a world belonging only to one such as herself, a woman beloved by the world and yet despised by those who were supposed to protect her. Elena can only take so much of being shot at, so many bombs, and so much scheming before she decides to go for broke and escape her gilded cage at any cost.

The tale of Elena is a superb what-if that circles around the fractured fairy tale of royal life. Each chapter begins with a few lines of dialogue from mysterious persons that point fingers this way and that way in regards to who is out to get Elena. It is a clever little trap that Ms. Froetschel has laid to entice the reader to keep going to see what happens even when the reader’s body is begging for a few hours of rest. The printed words on the pages of this book have all the lure of a siren’s song, and I for one fell in love with them. Reading Royal Escape was like spending time with a dear old friend; I laughed, I cried, and I wanted to rough up quite a few fictitious jerks.

If I have not made it clear; this story is wonderful. The writing was easy to read and understand and did not sacrifice a smidgen of quality in order to make it so. Another thing that truly impressed me was that Elena is a person and not just a proverbial performing monkey. She is a character that will charm her way into one’s heart so one will carry her there always, much like a real person: when her heart aches, yours does; when she bristles with fear, you do too; and when she wants to bludgeon someone in frustration, so do you.

For anyone who has a weak spot for mystery, who ever wondered what might have happened if Princess Diana’s life had been a little different, or who just wants to read an amazing book, I strongly recommend that you acquire a copy of Royal Escape. Right now.

Copyright ©2009  Crystal R. Guess

ISBN 978-1-59414-755-5
Hardcover, 343 pages
Five Star 

Reviewed by Marlene Pyle

It doesn’t happen often, but once in a while, you get the best of both worlds.  The Drowning Pool is a juicy murder mystery with an interesting romance as a side order.  It begins when a man’s body is found floating in the swimming pool of an upscale apartment complex.  There are plenty of suspects.   The victim is not well-liked and there are several people who seem to have a motive. As more and more stories of the dead man’s past are revealed, everyone looks guilty.  With all that on his plate, the lead detective, Mike Gardner, has personal problems of his own as well.  

Gardner is a decent man and a single dad, raising two young daughters on his own.  He is in love with a librarian at the local university, and Kim cares deeply for him, but she has a complicated past.  She’s not at all sure she is ready to commit and their relationship is never easy.  Seewald deftly weaves both story lines together, resulting in a novel filled with suspense along with the normal every-day lives of her richly-drawn characters.    

Copyright © 2009  Marlene Pyle