Happy Pub day to all of these new books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
Title: Blame the Dead
Author: Ed Ruggero
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Forge Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
The nurses of the US Army’s Field Hospitals, mobile units that operate just behind the battle lines, contend with heat, dirt, short-handed staffs, the threat of German counterattack and an ever-present flood of horribly wounded GIs. At the 11th Field Hospital near Palermo, Sicily in the bloody summer of 1943, nurses also live with the threat of violent assault by one of their own–at least until someone shoots Dr. Myers Stephenson in the head.
Enter Eddie Harkins, a tough former Philadelphia beat cop turned Military Police lieutenant, who is first on the scene. Although he has never been a detective, Harkins soon finds himself the lone investigator, either because the Military Police are under-staffed or because someone in power thinks this rank amateur will never get close to the real killer. When the hospital commander tries to derail Harkins’ investigation by transferring or harassing key witnesses, it becomes clear to Harkins that the unit is rotten to its core, that the nurses are not safe, and that patients who have survived Nazi bullets are still at risk after they arrive at this place that is supposed to save them.
Harkins fights–and worries that he is losing–multiple battles. He is driven to give hope to nurses who just want to do their life-saving work, to right at least a few of the wrongs around him, and to do penance for sins in his own past. The one bright note for Harkins is a rekindled relationship with Kathleen Donnelly, a nurse from Harkins’ old neighborhood; but even that is complicated when Donnelly becomes a victim.
Eddie Harkins was a traffic cop in the United States before World War II began. When a surgeon is murdered at a hospital base in Sicily, he is brought to the base to investigate. He discovers many secrets and coverups that have been happening at the base, which makes his investigation complicated.
The writing in this story was clear and concise. I immediately felt sympathy for the characters. Harkins got some bad news fairly early on in the book, and I could feel his pain. The story was detailed, but also concise, so words weren’t wasted. The story was also fast paced, so it was difficult to put down.
There are some sexual assaults and rapes that Harkins uncovers in his investigation. One thing that I noticed right away was that the men in charge treated these accusations in the same way that they are often treated today. They either brushed them off as being a misunderstanding or blamed the women for leading them on or wanting to be touched like that. Unfortunately, that’s still often the response decades later. However, this made the story very timely, since there is more awareness about sexual assaults today.
I loved this book! I highly recommend it!
Thank you Forge Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Blame the Dead? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
This weekend I finished Blame the Dead by Ed Ruggero.
I’m currently reading The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren.
Next I will be reading Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:
I did 8 weekly blogging memes:
How was your week? What did you guys read?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading Blame the Dead by Ed Ruggero.
The nurses of the US Army’s Field Hospitals, mobile units that operate just behind the battle lines, contend with heat, dirt, short-handed staffs, the threat of German counterattack and an ever-present flood of horribly wounded GIs. At the 11th Field Hospital near Palermo, Sicily in the bloody summer of 1943, nurses also live with the threat of violent assault by one of their own–at least until someone shoots Dr. Myers Stephenson in the head.
Enter Eddie Harkins, a tough former Philadelphia beat cop turned Military Police lieutenant, who is first on the scene. Although he has never been a detective, Harkins soon finds himself the lone investigator, either because the Military Police are under-staffed or because someone in power thinks this rank amateur will never get close to the real killer. When the hospital commander tries to derail Harkins’ investigation by transferring or harassing key witnesses, it becomes clear to Harkins that the unit is rotten to its core, that the nurses are not safe, and that patients who have survived Nazi bullets are still at risk after they arrive at this place that is supposed to save them.
Harkins fights–and worries that he is losing–multiple battles. He is driven to give hope to nurses who just want to do their life-saving work, to right at least a few of the wrongs around him, and to do penance for sins in his own past. The one bright note for Harkins is a rekindled relationship with Kathleen Donnelly, a nurse from Harkins’ old neighborhood; but even that is complicated when Donnelly becomes a victim.
What book are you in bed with today?
This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Characters I’d Love to Go on a Date With. Here’s my list:
(All book cover images from Goodreads)
Did you make a Six for Sunday list?
Title: A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan #19)
Author: Kathy Reichs
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 17, 2020
Rating: ★★★★
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a new riveting novel featuring her vastly popular character forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who must use all her tradecraft to discover the identity of a faceless corpse, its connection to a decade-old missing child case, and why the dead man had her cell phone number.
It’s sweltering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Temperance Brennan, still recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm, is battling nightmares, migraines, and what she thinks might be hallucinations when she receives a series of mysterious text messages, each containing a new picture of a corpse that is missing its face and hands. Immediately, she’s anxious to know who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her.
An identified corpse soon turns up, only partly answering her questions.
To win answers to the others, including the man’s identity, she must go rogue, working mostly outside the system. That’s because Tempe’s new boss holds a fierce grudge against her and is determined to keep her out of the case. Tempe bulls forward anyway, even as she begins questioning her instincts. But the clues she discovers are disturbing and confusing. Was the faceless man a spy? A trafficker? A target for assassination by the government? And why was he carrying the name of a child missing for almost a decade?
With help from a number of law enforcement associates including her Montreal beau Andrew Ryan and the always-ready-with-a-smart-quip, ex-homicide investigator Skinny Slidell, and utilizing new cutting-edge forensic methods, Tempe draws closer to the astonishing truth.
But the more she uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes…
In this book, Temperance enters a world of conspiracy theories. A faceless man turns up at the morgue, which Temperance is forbidden from working in from the new doctor. She starts her own investigation, which leads her to discover child abuse, missing children, and conspiracy theories, all while dealing with her own health issues.
One thing that Temperance always does is follow her own rules. She didn’t have permission to do a lot of the investigating that she did in this book, but she did it regardless. This was sometimes a problem, because she got in trouble or lost valuable clues.
This book also had some eerie mentions of pandemics. Those mentions follow the conspiracy theories in the book, but it was creepy to read mentions about pandemics and SARS in a book when we are currently experiencing a pandemic in the world.
I love learning about the sources for stories. At the end of this book, Kathy Reichs talks about the real new stories that she borrowed from for this novel. She also has a personal connection to Temperance, which was touching to read about.
This was a great Bones story.
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read A Conspiracy of Bones? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Magical Realism. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!
Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?
Title: break your glass slippers
Author: amanda lovelace
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 17, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
“more forgetting time.
more midnight dances with yourself.”amanda lovelace, the bestselling & award-winning author of the “women are some kind of magic” poetry series, presents a new companion series, “you are your own fairy tale” the first installment, break your glass slippers, is about overcoming those who don’t see your worth, even if that person is sometimes yourself. in the epic tale of your life, you are the most important character while everyone is but a forgotten footnote. even the prince.
This poetry collection tells a Cinderella story. This Cinderella gets the Prince Charming, but he turns out to be a bad boyfriend. He lies to her, wants her to change, and cheats on her. He is very critical of her. Her fairy godmother speaks words of wisdom, telling her it’s okay to be alone.
This was a great twist on the fairytale of Cinderella. She is often the character girls aspire to be, because she overcomes her faults and gets the prince she wanted. However, this story shows that her “faults” are not what’s wrong with her. They make up who she is, and she shouldn’t try to change for anyone, even her Prince Charming.
I loved the illustrations that went along with some of the poems. They illustrated some of the imagery in the poems, such as a bird cage and a love potion. They reinforced the idea of the modern fairytale, since they are usually children’s books with illustrations.
This is a great poetry book!
Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read break your glass slippers? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Laurie Reads and Niffler Reads. Every Friday, they post a list of bookish things based on the prompt they provided. The prompts for Feb to May can be found here.
This week’s prompt is a Faves Freebie. I decided to do books with ‘Best’ in the Title. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
Did you make a list for Bookish Friday?
