Vol 4 Issue 5
Introduction
Thank you for the many notes you sent congratulating me on my novel Killer Deals winning an Independent Publisher Book Award. I am grateful and appreciative of all your support.
More News To Share
My redesigned and updated website is now live. Check it out. The URL remains the same: chrisquarembo.com. I’m offering two of my short stories free to new members who sign up for my newsletter.
Recommendations
The authors of the novels I’m recommending in this issue skillfully recreate the eras in which their stories take place, including the late 18th century, 1921 and 1975. While the settings transport you to another time and place, the stories told by these talents writers keep you engrossed until the final page.
A Game of Fear by Charles Todd
In A Game of Fear, the twenty-fourth book in the series featuring Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard, Charles Todd continues to explore the traumatic effects of World War One on English society.
Inspector Rutledge, haunted by a devastating battlefield decision he was forced to make, finds the lingering aftermath of the war still evident in 1921 when he investigates a murder at Benton Abbey.
Lady Benton, owner of the Essex manor, reports witnessing a violent murder on the grounds of her estate. Local authorities, however, find no trace of a body or any sign of a crime. Rutledge, though, believes Lady Benton is telling the truth about what she saw. Rutledge finds the answers he's looking for when he uncovers the connection between the Benton manor house and a nearby airfield used during the war.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
This multi-layered story is both a compelling mystery and an intense family drama. Liz Moore succeeds once again in creating realistic characters within an intricate plot. She is the author of Long Bright River, set in Philadelphia’s Kensington area, which I recommended in a previous newsletter.
The God of the Woods takes place at an Adirondack summer camp during two different time frames separated by fourteen years. The story opens in 1975 with the disappearance of the daughter of the wealthy Van Laar family, owners of the camp. The family’s young son vanished from the same camp years before and has never been found. Are the two disappearances connected? Are both children dead? As the mystery unfolds, Moore also deftly reveals the toxic dynamics within the Van Laar clan and the sharp distinctions between social classes in the interactions of the family with the townspeople. Be prepared for surprising plot twists and an unexpected conclusion.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhorn
During a bitterly cold and snowy Maine winter in 1789, Martha Ballard, midwife and healer, faces the most difficult challenges in her fifty-some years.
A dead man is pulled out of the frozen river and Martha Ballard is called upon to examine the body. She concludes the man, who had been accused of raping the pastor’s wife, was murdered, setting off a confrontation between Martha and legal authorities, who insist the death was accidental.
Lawhorn’s story is a fictionalized tale about the real Martha Ballard, midwife, wife and the mother of five, who left behind diaries of her daily life tending to the women of her town.
In The Frozen River, normal life, with its hardships and comforts, occurs within the backdrop of violent death and rape. Dramatic courtroom scenes showcase the limited legal system of the new republic and the stigma experienced by rape victims.
Quotable Quote
“All good narration contains an element of mystery and suspense. If it didn't, if the storyline were predictable, we would have no interest in reading it.” -James Lee Burke, Edgar Award winner, author of the David Robicheaux series
Patronize Independent Booksellers
Whenever you buy books, please consider purchasing from independent booksellers, who remain passionate about books, love to share their knowledge and provide a vital link between readers and authors. Also, Bookshop.org contributes ten percent of its sales revenue to independent sellers.
Watch your inbox for my next newsletter out in September. In the meantime, please feel free to share your thoughts and recommendations with me. Email me at chrisquarembo@gmail.com
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