December 2023 MBR The General Fiction Shelf

The General Fiction Shelf

Christmas Karol
Faith Moore
DW Books
9781956007305, $28.99, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Karol-Faith-Moore/dp/195600730X

Synopsis: Karol Charles does not have time for ghosts. It's Christmas Eve and she's at the office. Sure, her kids thought she'd be making cookies with them back at home, but this is important. This is what it means to "have it all." Then, a familiar cough from the adjacent room jolts her out of her work. It can't be possible. Marley is dead. She has been for years.

With Marley's death, Karol is now running their law firm by herself. But she still strives to live by her best friend and law partner's creed: The job makes the money and the money buys the things that make your family happy. Working all the time is a sacrifice Karol has made willingly.

However, Karol's life takes a drastic turn when she falls outside of Rockefeller Center and has to be hospitalized. But something is wrong with this hospital. There's a ghost in the waiting room and another magical visitor in the lobby. With them, Karol revisits long-forgotten memories and begins to unravel the truth about her current situation - and a future that is anything but cheery and bright.

Critique: "Christmas Karol" by Faith Moore gives a modern twist on Charles Dickens's classic tale of "A Christmas Carol". In Moore's inherently entertaining and thoughtful story, Karol Charles' supernatural journey through her past, present, and future reveals a difficult yet liberating truth: It is far better to have what matters than to have it all. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.49), this hardcover edition from DW Books of "Christmas Karol" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Christmas Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Faith Moore (https://faithkmoore.com/author/faithkmoore) is a freelance writer and editor and (most importantly) a stay-at-home mom. She has been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Federalist, and Daily Wire, among others. She is also the author of "Saving Cinderella: What Feminists Get Wrong About Disney Princesses and How to Set It Right".

Never Said I Love You
Michael McGrath
Independently Published
9798865943020, $19.95, PB, 390pp

https://www.amazon.com/Never-Said-I-Love-You/dp/B0CMN2C8FV

Synopsis: A chance encounter one rainy night in 1976 New York City begins a string of events leading NYPD officer Michael Callahan to Tel Aviv, Israel, and a showdown seven years later with an enemy he did not even know he had.

Reluctantly recruited by the CIA, the ex-policeman is forced to act as a courier between moderate Palestinians and western intelligence.

Playing out against the turmoil of the Middle East "Never Said I Love You" is also a complicated love story as Michael falls in love with both an Israeli and with a Palestinian, yet finds it hard to say the words, "I love you".

The story of "Never Said I Love You" culminates in a show down in the Old City of Jerusalem that leaves no one unscathed.

Critique: Of particular interest to fans of international espionage thrillers, "Never Said I Love You" showcases author Michael McGrath's genuine flair for originality, the creation of memorable characters, and the kind of narrative storytelling style that fully engages the reader's rapt attention from start to finish. Especially and unreservedly recommended for community library collections, and a fun read from beginning to end, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Never Said I Love You" is also readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Dr. Michael Gerard McGrath, MD is a health care provider primarily practicing in Rochester, NY. He has 39 years of experience. His specialties include Forensic Psychiatry and General Psychiatry. Dr. McGrath is affiliated with University of Rochester School of Medicine. He is also the author of the murder mystery, "Beyond Hate".

When You Read This I'll Be Gone
Anne Moose
Act Two
9798218955144, $16.00 Paperback/$6.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/When-You-Read-This-Gone/dp/B0CHLKMWMP

The title of Anne Moose's When You Read This I'll Be Gone achieves the goal of an excellent title - to compel readers to delve into the story. It supports the opening lines of the tale, which take the form of a letter Valerie Hawthorne writes to her loved ones: "I know there's nothing I can ever say or do to make up for the hurt I've caused you, but this book will at least explain what happened and why I did what I did. I don't expect forgiveness, but I do want you to know the truth. It's ironic that, with this book, I may finally achieve the success as an author I've always wanted."

As Valerie admits that the domino-tipping came as much from her actions as those of a handsome, tall stranger she encountered at a hotel, readers receive a compelling series of events that turns an illicit romance into a quest for redemption and revenge. A dinner invitation becomes something more - and then the terror begins as Valerie comes to understand that little was left to chance, and much that played out was intentionally plotted. From mistakes made both intentionally and inadvertently to the deadly results of dangerous choices, Moose weaves a thoroughly engaging story that winds through murder, a past crime the perp never realized had been committed, and racial prejudices which infect even a liberal university.

As the truth is revealed and Valerie is charged with telling the world, a riveting story plays out that intersects romance and danger in such a way that readers will not want to stop following its satisfying twists and turns. Its evolutionary process lies in developing truths and underlying motives that affect all the characters, and its strength lies in a plot for retribution that challenges Valerie to not just survive, but step up to life in new ways. Stark in its romantic interlude, which opens the saga with a slower simmer that then builds to a boil of intrigue and revelations, When You Read This I'll Be Gone lives up to its promises to be a powerful blend of mystery, romance, and psychological attraction. When You Read This I'll Be Gone is highly recommended for libraries and readers seeking exceptional titles supported by equally potent reading that keeps audiences thoroughly engaged and guessing to the end.

Freedom's Just Another Word
Len Joy
Independently Published
9798585924699, $12.95 Paper/$2.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Freedoms-Just-Another-Word-Len/dp/B0CGZ31MS9

Freedom's Just Another Word opens in 2018 with the declaration "I used to be famous." Jake revels in the more minor fame of having a successful syndicated column until the newspaper is sold and his column is cut back, forcing Jake to become a part-time Uber driver just to make ends meet. Inspiration under adverse economic conditions seems unlikely, but Jake is wallowing, even though his adult daughter is on the cusp of realizing success at last, having been accepted to Stanford Law at age 31.

Jake is brutally candid from the start about the many questionable choices he's made in his life, all of which have led him to this point of uncertainty: "My fall from grace had been all on me. I fell in love with someone I wasn't supposed to fall in love with. She was 21, I was 35 and married. She was my intern. She had a baby. We named him Devante. I'm supposed to say I was wrong. That I made a mistake and I'm sorry. But I loved Monique and I love my son. My heart wanted something it couldn't have. I don't think that makes it wrong, just impossible. I have no regrets."

Len Joy cultivates a gritty form of self-realization in his character which makes him both flawed and likeable from the beginning. Although family unity seems unachievable, there are still life changes waiting to influence Jake and change his floundering course. These unfold in the course of a novel that follows his moves into adult son Devante's life and crazy woman Amanda's world, who represents yet another opportunity to either succeed or fail in relationship-building. Joy's ability to traverse the social and political tides of Jake's environment brings readers directly into contact with its disparate forces, from boxing and exes to adult children who are also finding their way in their lives. The heartbreaking, beautiful stories Jake is capable of writing change others' lives. Why not his own? But as he faces a son's dangerous stalker, an even uglier situation with his ex Tawni, and a job demotion that keeps him wondering about his future, Jake's search for others' stories becomes his own quest for a better outcome.

Readers who enter his life to absorb Jake's first-person revelations about his scattered relationships with job and life will find in Jake many of the components of their own psyches; especially in moments which teeter on the fine edge of failure or success. Jake's return to his writing prowess in producing a column which is both enlightening and highly controversial opens new doors of opportunity he and his readers won't see coming. The result is a commanding probe of old patterns, new beginnings, political entanglements, and relationship challenges reformulated under new conditions. Against the backdrops of boxing, fighting for identity, and confronting self and family lies the astute, vividly realistic story of a man who attempts to reveal and save others while making difficult choices to do the same for himself. Freedom's Just Another Word is highly recommended for libraries and readers looking for powerfully compelling fiction about middle-aged characters who face real-world danger, the impossibility of fairy-tale endings, and the promise that tomorrow will be different. Maybe.

Good Taste: A Novel in Search of Great Food
Caroline Scott
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063325814, $19.99, PB, 432pp

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Taste-Novel-Search-Great/dp/0063325810

Synopsis: England in 1932 is in the grip of the Great Depression. Stella Douglas, author of a much-loved but not very successful biography, is a bit depressed herself. When she's summoned to see her editor in London, she expects her writing career is over before it's even started.

But much to her surprise, she is being commissioned to write a history of English food. It's to be quintessentially English and intended to lift the sprits of the nation. There's just one problem: a lot of English food is actually quite terrible (and anything good is usually imported from elsewhere).

So Stella travels across England in hopes of discovering a hidden culinary gem. What she discovers is oatcakes and gravy and lots and lots of potatoes. But when her car breaks down midjourney and the dashing and charismatic antiques dealer Freddie springs to her rescue, she is led in a very different direction...

Full of wit, life, and (against all odds) delicious food, "Good Taste: A Novel in Search of Great Food" is a story of discovery and one woman's desire to make her own way as a modern woman.

Critique: Ably showcasing author Caroline Scott's genuine flair as a novelist for originality, creating memorable characters, and a narrative driven storytelling style that attracts and keeps the readers dedicated attention from start to finish, "Good Taste: A Novel in Search of Great Food " is a welcome and unreservedly recommended pick for community library Historical & Literary Fiction collections. it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Good Taste: A Novel in Search of Great Food" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212700054, $41.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Caroline Scott is a freelance writer and historian specializing in WWI and women's history, with a PhD from Durham University. Born in the UK, Caroline currently resides in France. Her novel, The Poppy Wife, is partially inspired by her family history.

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