This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I thought that this was a really well-done detective story. This is one of those books that I have had no my tbr forever but kept skipping over it for one reason or another. I am glad that I finally dusted it off and gave it a try. I liked this book from that very start and found that I felt invested in the mystery. I had a great time with this book.

Jimmy Vega is a detective in New York state. He is called to the scene when the body of an undocumented female is found. Jimmy is a Latino and he realizes very quickly that the small town that he is working in may not give equal treatment to everyone. There is a large immigrant population in Lake Holly with many being undocumented. Not only does Jimmy want to learn how the woman died, but he is also trying to find out what happened to the child in the photograph that she had with her.

I liked Jimmy right away. He was a smart cop and because of his heritage, he was able to see both sides of the case a little clearer than some of his co-workers. He was determined to get answers about the woman's death and make sure the child was safe. He also wasn't afraid to question how things have been done in town and worked to right as many wrongs as he could. He had a few more personal matters to deal with in this story which made him seem a little easier to relate to. He doesn't do everything perfectly in this story but he works to learn from his mistakes and I always felt like he was trying to do what was right.

I loved the way the author was able to incorporate the lives of undocumented workers in this story. I found that the way she painted the picture of what their lives were like both in this country and at home was really powerful. I thought that the motivation of the characters to risk so much to come to the states for a chance to work felt very authentic. I really liked the way that we really were able to see both sides of this story.

Armando Durán was the perfect narrator for this story. There was quite a bit of Spanish sprinkled throughout the book and I thought that he made everything flow very well. Don't worry, you don't need to know how to speak Spanish to enjoy this book (I don't) but I thought the fact that the narrator made those passages sound natural was a big plus. I thought that he handled all of the character voices very well and was able to add a lot of excitement to the story. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to his work again.

I would recommend this book to fans of detective stories. I thought that this was a nicely plotted, complex mystery with really fantastic characters. I would not hesitate to read more of the Jimmy Vega series!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Initial Thoughts
This was a really good detective story. When the body of an undocumented woman is found, Jimmy Vega is called into the small town in New York to help with the investigation. It becomes obvious right away that immigrants in this town are not always treated fairly. I liked watching Vega work to not only find out what happened to the woman but work tirelessly to find her daughter. At the same time, he is juggling some issues with his own teenage daughter. I really liked the way this book touched on what it is like for someone living in this country illegally and what motivates someone to take that path. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job with this story.

The Clifton Chronicles book #4

The fourth novel in the Clifton Chronicles series picks up minutes where the “Best Kept Secret” left. Set in England and spanning the years 1957-1964 we follow the Clifton-Barrington family saga in their face off with Don Pedro Martinez, a smuggler who became a staunch enemy in the preceding book and is hell-bent to destroying them.

You definitely need to read the three first books before you get to this one. We do not have many details and the characters’ background to have a complete idea of what the Clifton Chronicles are about. (It would be a big miss on your part). Mr. Archer weaves an “unputdownable” story with the use of such simplest possible words. He is so easy to read, I wanted to keep reading just to find out what was happening to the Cliftons and the Barringtons and in what kind of troubles they managed to get into this time (the best part in my books). The story contains thrilling surprises page after page and is plotted with skills to play a cat-and mouse game with us. The tension and the built-up are terrific and have kept me on the edge of my seat.

No family saga is without a villain, this book has a good one, a well-drawn and believable character. While telling this tale, Mr. Archer's characters, even in the midst of blazing run-ins maintain their British elegance and dry sense of humour. What a treat to read.

Being a marvelous storyteller and a tease that he is, has managed to leave the story with an excellent cliff-hanger that constrains us to get the following installment (I already have it).

“Be Careful What You Wish For” is thoroughly engaging.

The current craze surrounding Marie Kondo and her personal organizing empire has opened the floodgates for others looking to piggyback on the momentum surrounding the fad.  In Careful What You Wish For, Hallie Epron’s protagonist, Emily Harlow, is a newly minted professional organizer who is continuously pitted against characters and events representing deliberate chaos.  Emily’s own husband is a lawyer, and (ironically) an avid “collector” of detritus gathered from yard and estate sales.  There is obvious tension between them caused in turn by disagreements about their infertility issues and the growing build-up of clutter inside their home.  Emily’s need for order becomes further thwarted when she takes on two new clients with complications and convoluted pasts. Both clients provide the novel with mysteries that become increasingly puzzling and intertwined.  In one case, Emily is suspicious that her client’s deceased husband may have a collection of stolen items, and the other embroils Emily in a “Strangers on a Train” type plot. As an amateur detective, Emily often shows a degree of questionable judgement and naivete that may cause the reader to experience exasperation at her obtuseness. Careful What You Wish For also contains many twists and red herrings, but savvy readers will not be duped due to the numerous hints provided and their sheer predictability. Ephron’s newest release is a perfect summer read: light, quickly paced and well-written, but probably not her best nor most memorable work thus far.                                                                                                                                                

 

Thanks to Edelweiss and William Morrow for an ARC of this book in return for an unbiased review.

3,5 stars rounded up

[book:A Careful Heart|33864398] is a good and solid story that held my attention from the beginning up to the end, well written, with love to detail and melancholic elegance.

Not your typical MM Romance: though it is a love story, you won't find any sex scenes here. Sex happens but out of pages.

It is in the first place a novel about deep friendship and the power of love.

Two close friends—Travis Gaines and Stephen. Whereas Stephen is rather shy and very reserved, Travis is extroverted and communicative, but despite all the differences, they are the best friends - more like brothers - and they are inseparable.

[book:A Careful Heart|33864398] is a story of their friendship, their supportive families, their profound connections to each other, their life experiences, bad and good, and how they learn to be honest to themselves and their feelings. The author shows us their lives through high school, college, beginning of working careers and adulthood. From childhood to maturity, through thick and thin.

There is an interesting way of telling the story: [author:Ralph Josiah Bardsley|14439629] shows it from different points of view. The focus is not steadily set on only one characters, it flows between characters.

The book starts a bit slow but gains on pace through the story. The last part is full of surprises and an unexpected turn at then end can let us consider almost a change of a genre!

I mostly enjoyed the part that told the love story of Stephen und Gabe and the dynamic of their relationship. Moreover, Gabe became my favorite MC, though he is rather a main secondary characters in this book.

All in all, it is a good written, emotional and engaging novel. I think I would have enjoyed [book:A Careful Heart|33864398] much more if I had fallen for the main characters too, but despite I was invested in their story, I didn’t feel this deep connection to them that makes a good written interesting book to a 5 star reading experience.



***ARC provided by the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Alicia, Alicia, Alicia. Smh.   The good man wasn't good enough because you couldn't be carefree with money.   Now you've got yourself a man who allows you buy whatever, whenever.  Oh, but wait, he's also a Class A, no good, womanizing, self serving jerk off. 

 

They say women look for their father in a mate.   Well, you've got that and then some. Good luck!