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The Unwelcome Guest–the mother-in-law from Hell
The Unwelcome Guest
by Amanda Robson
I have just been introduced to the “domestic suspense” novel in reading Amanda Robson’s The Unwelcome Guest. The focus is a power couple: Miles a philosophy professor and his wife Saffron who owns her own niche concierge law firm. They live in Great Britain with their two children and most importantly with Miles’ wealthy, widowed mother Caprice who has decided that living in the annex to the house she bought for them is not suitable. She moves into the big house to be closer to the son she adores.
Caprice detests Saffron from their first meeting and proves herself manipulative, deceptive, and downright evil. The author adds in to that toxic setup Mile’s financially successful brother Aiden who never met Caprice’s standards. He is in love with Saffron, and is divorced from Julie who is Saffron’s assistant. Having gone through a number of nannies, the couple hires Hayley from New Zealand who is good with the children, delighted to live in their luxurious house, and has eyes for Miles.
I did not actually like any of the characters, except the kids. The intrigue within the household made the plot, but I didn’t enjoy reading about it. Evil arose in response to evil, showing the worst side of the characters and often bubbling to the surface.
The format of the book is appropriate for the story which is told in short chapters, sometimes less than a page. Each one is entitled with the name of the character whose point of view is related in the chapter. In this way the action moves forward showing much of the the emotions and motivations of the characters, all the while hiding some of them as well. There are lots of twists and surprises to the very end. I did not fully engage for the first quarter of the book. After that, it was a page turner for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: General—4/5, Personal—3/5
Category: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller
Notes: Trying to be objective as a reviewer, I can share that the book was well written. I liked the way the characters’ thoughts were exposed along with what they actually said. Thus my rating of 4/5. What I learned, however, is that domestic suspense is not a category that attracts me, and for my personal reading pleasure, my rating is 3/5 with no recommendation to read it.
Publication: November 23, 2021—Harper 360 (Avon)
Memorable Lines:
I became Aiden’s challenge. His revenge against his brother for being the one that his woman wanted. If he could bed me, he would. A stag thing; wanting to rut his competition’s mate. Despite the fun I have being with him, the disingenuous nature of his attention always annoys me.
“Caprice’s world centres around Miles. No one else matches him. No one else is good enough. It’s a sadness we both have to face.”
Are you right, Saffron? Is Aiden hitting on you to get back at me? Or is it worse than that. Is he truly in love with you? Aiden Jackson, we have shared much in life, but I am not sharing my wife. My fist clenches. Be careful, Aiden. Still waters run deep.
Edgewater Road–second chance for ex-cons
Edgewater Road
by Shelley Shepard Gray
Jennifer inherits her grandmother Ginny’s old farmhouse with acreage in Ohio and soon discovers that her neighbor is John Lincoln Bennett, an ex-con who has a business managing properties. He also helps other ex-cons reintegrate into society when they are released. Jennifer works in her home as a medical transcriber but wants to reach outside the shield she has established to avoid trusting others. Lincoln is immediately drawn to her and feels very protective of her.
Edgewater Road contains romance, but the real focus is on the characters as their backgrounds are revealed and relationships are developed. There is also some gripping action and danger along with moments of humor as the characters interact in some awkward situations. Lincoln is a natural leader who instills respect, and Jennifer is almost too nice and trusting for her own good. Both are characters that you want to be successful individually and together. The ex-cons in general turn out to be helpful and respectful, especially Bo, Lincoln’s right hand man and Seth, formerly Amish and very polite and trustworthy. Wayne, a young Amish boy, needs to earn money, and his role in the story adds interest as does that of Chad, a semi-feral cat that Wayne finds in Jennifer’s barn.
Author Shelley Shepard Gray excels with plot action. The book is a page turner for me with Gray alternating telling the story from Jennifer’s perspective and from Lincoln’s. Without sugar coating a life of crime, Gray presents the difficulties that might lead one down a bad path, what prison is like, and the reactions of people to ex-cons. They are often viewed with suspicion and distrust and many end up back in prison for various reasons.
I highly recommend Edgewater Road and look forward to the next book in this series.
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Blackstone Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction (Adult), Romance
Notes: 1. #1 in a new series, The Rumors in Ross County.
2. Although the books deals with some rough ex-cons, there is nothing graphic or offensive in the book, and it is clean in all aspects.
Publication: March 1, 2022—Blackstone Publishing
Memorable Lines:
There was a part of him that was drawn to her like a prisoner to a decent meal.
“That woman’s got more work that needs to be done than an old lady at the plastic surgeon.”
Back when he’d started this, his goals had been almost noble. He’d wanted to give men like him, men who’d made mistakes but were still decent, a second chance… Now, nearly eight years later, his aspirations weren’t quite so lofty. Oh, his heart still searched for the good in people, and he often shared some of the teachings he’d learned from the Bible. However, he’d also learned that not everyone could be rehabilitated.
Broken Heart Attack–good series
Broken Heart Attack
by James J. Cudney
The best way for me to describe the beginning of Broken Heart Attack is “hyperactive,” a label which is meant to be descriptive, not positive or negative. Author James J. Cudney packs a lot into the first several chapters as he brings readers up to speed on the events in the first book of the series and introduces a complex plot with a lot of characters.
The main mystery of Broken Heart Attack centers around the Paddington family, murder, and a missing will. Unfortunately, the Paddington family is quite dysfunctional, and there is not one member of the family that I could relate to or invest myself in. In other words, by the end of the book, I really didn’t care who the murderer was.
A side issue to the murder is a paternity case. Other stories that affect the main character, Kellan, continue from the first book but make little progress: the reappearance of a presumed dead wife, conflict with co-worker Myriam, a potential love triangle involving friends Connor and Maggie, and a possible softening in his relationship with Sheriff Montague.
I purchased this book; it was not an advance copy. Therefore, I was surprised to see a number of errors. Some were obviously a case of autocorrect gone wrong, some were spelling, and some were, more egregiously, pronoun usage. This is particularly startling because the author rarely has errors in his posted book reviews.
On the positive side, Nana D continues to provide humor and Kellan is a likeable character. Would I read another book in this cozy mystery series? Absolutely! I would particularly like to see what happens as Kellan is pressured by his wife’s mob family, the Castiglianos. I would urge the author to write the next book at a less frenetic pace with more character development. He has the beginnings of a good series with interesting plots and a college setting that provides a background with multiple possibilities. The Braxton Campus Mystery Series definitely has a lot of potential.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Braxton Campus Mystery Series. It could be read as a standalone, but would be more fun in sequence.
Publication: November 25, 2018—Creativia
Memorable Lines:
I loved my nana, but her friends were harder to handle than standing upside down catching a greasy pig in a mud slide.
Eustacia and Nana D had some sort of symbiotic relationship where they often couldn’t stand to be around one another but if ever two days went by without time for tea or gossip, the world might’ve come to an end.
I woke up Thursday morning with a hangover so painful my head had put out a foreclosure sign.
education pathways 