Category: Romance

Five Star review for “New Leaf” by Catherine Anderson

New Leaf - Catherine AndersonTaffeta Brown grew up in the foster care system. She had been sick as a baby and by the time her medical problems allowed her to be adopted, she was an older child. She married the only son of a prominent attorney and for awhile she thought her life was perfect. True, her husband was spoiled and his parents gave him everything, but he had graduated with a law degree and was going to work for his father’s firm, and she was sure in time he would grow up.  Taffeta was happy when she found out she was expecting a child, until her husband informed her he wasn’t ready to be a father so she had to have a abortion.  She refused, informing Phillip that wasn’t going to happen.

When Sarah was born, Phillip’s parents fell completely in love with her. Phillip pretended to love her too, whenever his parents were around. During the pregnancy he had stopped bothering to hide his infidelities, but if Taffeta wanted to provide a stable life for her daughter, she had to look the other way. One night when Sarah was three she got up late at night, managed to unlock the safety gate on the stairs and fell. This was what Phillip had been waiting for! He accused Taffeta of abusing the child, divorced her and got sole custody of Sarah. Since a child wasn’t in his plans, he immediately gave Sarah to her grandparents.

Convicted of child abuse, Taffeta relocates to different town. Not wanting to draw attention, she dresses in dowdy clothes and spends all her time building her business. One day she will get the money to hire a lawyer and gain custody of Sarah, until then she has to fly below the radar and build a reputation as a model citizen.  Enter Barney Sterling, a local lawman who finds himself drawn to Taffeta. When Taffeta finds out that Phillip has removed Sarah from his parents home and is leaving her in the care of strippers and drug addicts, she turns to Barney. Barney is a Deputy Sheriff and every criminal he has known claimed to be innocent, but once he starts thinking about the story Taffeta tells him, he decides that if Taffeta is lying she would surely concoct a better story.

The book tells of Barney and Taffeta’s fight to get her little girl back, and their growing attraction to one another. By the time they get the child back, they find she acts like a 20 year old stripper with a language to match.

This is an excellent read.

As always I wish you happy reading,   Linda

 

J.D. Robb’s new book

J.D. Robb, Devoted in Death If you know me, you know I am a big Nora Roberts fan, I have never read a Nora Roberts book I didn’t like. I am also a fan of the books she writes under the pen name “J.D. Robb”.  These books are set in the year 2058 and are about a futuristic cop named Eve Dallas. I’ll be honest; I am addicted, and when her latest, “Devoted in Death” came out recently, I had to have it. Like most book junkies I couldn’t wait to get it home so I could get my latest fix. Is it any wonder that I have to write a little murder and mayhem into my own books?

This one features a pair of Bonnie and Clyde types who go on a killing spree. While I could understand that Bonnie and Clyde might have been driven to what they did by poverty and therefore their greed for money, this couple is totally evil. They have killed their way across the country and end their reign of terror in Eve’s jurisdiction, New York City. You are pulled into the book when the “Star Crossed Lovers” capture a young women to torture for their perverted form of sexual pleasure, and then decide to add a young man to the mix, all because of their sick ideal of love. Eve works day and night to put the pieces of the puzzle together in time to save the young victims. This book centers, as most do, on Eve’s skill in tracking down the killer, but it also brings in a cast of characters that you have enjoyed seeing in past books. As usual I couldn’t put the book down until I turned the last page of the story.

If you like a good mystery then I highly recommend this. If you like a good author, just look for Nora Roberts name, because this lady is a master story teller. And, if you’re looking for something more in the romantic suspense genre, give my book “Run For Your Life!” a try, and then drop me a line and tell me what you thought.

As always, I wish you happy reading, Linda Laughlin

 

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