Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books. When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty years, her three beautiful daughters, one precious grandson, and their four character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else?
Robin gives back to the writing community by serving as Conference Director for ACFW. Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as RT Reviewer’s Choice, Bookseller’s Best, and Book of the Year. An avid reader herself, Robin loves hearing from and chatting with other readers. Although her favorite genre to read is mystery/suspense, of course, she’ll read just about any good story. Except historicals!
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Informed by the real-life fallout of the U.S. economy plus devastation caused by multiple hurricanes along the southern coast, In the Shadow of Evil casts the modern day story of a building rebound scam exposed. It begins when the body of a property inspector is found among the ashes of a burnt out Homes of Hope house. Wrapped up in this mounting case of unethical practices, supply shortages, and murder, top Louisiana homicide detective Maddox Bishop is losing his heart to a charitable contractor, Layla Taylor, whose own sister is under suspicion. He’s also about to discover a deep secret about his tragic past.
Learn more about Robin and her books on her Website.
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MY REVIEW:
This review is a reprint of one I posted last week on another blog tour for this great book. If you have not read anything by Robin Caroll, I urge you to give her novels a try. If you love good suspense, you won’t be sorry.
I first became familiar with Robin Caroll’s books as a monthly subscriber to Love Inspired Suspense. I was always glad when a new shipment contained one of her novels. With her newest series based in Eternal Springs, Louisiana, Robin has gifted her readers with even more of a good thing.
In the Shadow of Evil meets all my requirements for a good suspense novel. It has realistic and interesting characters, adequate action, and lots of clues that are not too obvious – plus a first-rate romance is the icing on the cake. Components of the story are the stuff of the evening news. In fact, one detail (minus the murder) has been under investigation on our local Memphis news this week.
I liked the way Robin dropped hints that could apply to more than one suspect. Every time I thought I knew the guilty party, something would prove me wrong. I hate it when I have a mystery solved halfway through a book. No chance of that with In the Shadow of Evil.
All things considered, In the Shadow of Evil is an excellent read. I give it my thumbs up and suggest that you pick up a copy asap.
Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including in Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.
But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a sermon and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters.
Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before signing with a publisher. In the process, she saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than she cares to admit. At various times she has vowed never to write another word again. Ever. She has gone on writing strikes and even stooped to threatening her manuscripts with the shredder.
Her ninth novel, A Heart Most Worthy, follows prior Bethany House releases: A Constant Heart (October 2008), Love’s Pursuit (June 2009), and She Walks in Beauty (Apr 2010). She Walks in Beauty won the inaugural INSPY Award for Historical Fiction in Dec 2010. Two of her novels, Chateau of Echoes and The Cubicle Next Door were Christy Award finalists. Love’s Pursuit was a finalist for the ACFW Carol Award.
Publishers Weekly proclaimed, “Mitchell delivers the historical goods.”
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The elegance of Madame Forza’s gown shop is a far cry from the downtrodden North End of Boston. Yet each day Julietta, Annamaria, and Luciana enter the world of the upper class, working on finery for the elite in society. The three beauties each long to break free of their obligations and embrace the American dream–and their chance for love. But the ways of the heart are difficult to discern at times.
Julietta is drawn to the swarthy, mysterious Angelo. Annamaria has a star-crossed encounter with the grocer’s son, a man from the entirely wrong family. And through no intent of her own, Luciana catches the eye of Billy Quinn, the son of Madame Forza’s most important client.
Their destinies intertwined, each harboring a secret from their families and each other, will they be found worthy of the love they seek?
A Heart Most Worthy is an interesting, if somewhat confusing, novel set in Boston during the first world war. The story is filled with facts about life during that era which include customs of and prejudice against Italian immigrants and unknown (to me) details about anarchist activity in the U.S. At times the multiple points of view, including a sporadic narrator, were almost too much to keep straight. The narrator, in particular, was a quaint but odd and unnecessary touch to the story.
I did enjoy reading about the lives of the three young women but think this tale may have been even more enjoyable in a series of three volumes with each one featuring one of the young ladies. Not a bad book, but I enjoyed several of Ms. Mitchell’s earlier ones more.
Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 85 novels.
She received her first book contract in November, 1992 and saw A Place To Belong published in February 1993 with Barbour Publishings’ Heartsong Presents. She wrote exclusively with Heartsong for the next two years, receiving their readership’s vote for Favorite Author of the Year for three years in a row.
In December, 1995 she signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers to co-write a series with author Judith Pella. Tracie now writes exclusively for Bethany House Publishers.
She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.
Tracie was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for 2007 Inspirational Fiction and her books have won numerous awards for favorite books in a variety of contests.
Making her home in Montana, this Kansas native enjoys spending time with family–especially her three grandchildren–Rainy, Fox and Max. She’s active in her church as the Director of Women’s Ministries, coordinates a yearly writer’s retreat for published authors, and travels, as time permits, to research her books
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The future should be bright for Deborah Vandermark, who is now pursuing her interest in medicine alongside Dr. Christopher Clayton, who is courting her. But the lumber town is resistant to the idea of a woman physician, and she feels thwarted at every turn.
A more devastating blow occurs, however, when Christopher breaks off their relationship to return home to his troubled family. Despite her own love life going awry, Deborah is still intent to be a matchmaker for both her widowed mother and her brother, who has caught the eye of the spit-fire daughter of the local pastor.
But what will Deborah do when faced with the truth about Christopher’s family? Is there hope for the two of them…or will Jake Wyeth’s attentions finally catch Deborah’s eye instead?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Hearts Aglow, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
As a long-time fan of Tracie Peterson, I was surprised to find that I had difficulty getting into her most recent release. Hearts Aglow started with plenty of action and drama that quickly came to a standstill. At that point the narrative began to focus primarily on everyday activities in the lives of its characters and the romance between Deborah and Dr. Clayton. The romance was pretty ho-hum in my opinion and with a few minor exceptions, the action never really picked up again.
Peterson does manage to convey quite a bit of historical information. To me the highlight of the book was the excellent sermon given by Pastor Shattuck regarding racial issues. Hearts Aglow contains some drama, a bit of humor, several tepid romantic scenes, and some spiritual lessons. Unfortunately, I never really cared what happened to most of the characters. From my perspective, Hearts Aglow does not quite meet the usual standards I expect from a Tracie Peterson novel. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable story as long as it is not compared with some of Peterson’s earlier excellent novels.
Most readers want to know how authors ‘got started’ writing. My first novel, Threads of Love, was conceived when I was commuting sixty miles to work each day. I wanted to tell the story of a pioneer girl coming to Kansas and the faith that sustained her as she adjusted to a new life. When the book was completed, I tucked it away. I had absolutely no idea how publication of a book occurred and had given no thought to the concept. However, through a co-worker, I was directed to Tracie Peterson who, at that time, worked down the hall from me. Having never met Tracie, I was totally unaware of her writing career, but God intervened. The rest is, as they say, history…
With a graciousness that continues to amaze me, Tracie agreed to read my story, directed me to a publisher, and gave me information on a Christian writers conference. Since that first encounter many years ago, I have been blessed with the publication of numerous books, novellas and a juvenile fiction book. Joyously, Tracie and I had the opportunity to develop a blessed friendship. In fact, we have co-authored several series together, including The Bells of Lowell, the Lights of Lowell and The Broadmoor Legacy. In addition, I have continued to write several solo series.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
For many years, Ilsa Redlich has helped her parents run a hotel in South Amana, but as the United States enters the Great War, she can feel her world changing. The residents of the towns surrounding the Amana Colonies used to be accepting of their quiet, peaceful neighbors, but with anti-German sentiment running high, the Amana villages are now plagued by vandalism, threats, and insults.
Things get even worse when Ilsa finds out her family won’t be allowed to speak German in public–and that Garon, the childhood friend she’s long been smitten with, has decided to join the army. Jutta Schmidt is shocked when several members of the Council of National Defense show up on her family’s doorstep. Sure, the Schmidts once lived in the Amana Colonies, but that was years ago. She’s even more surprised when the council demands that she travel to Amana and report back on any un-American activities.
Not daring to disobey the government agents, Jutta takes a job at the South Amana hotel, befriends the daughter of the owners, and begins to eavesdrop every chance she gets. When Jutta hears Ilsa making antiwar remarks and observes Garon assisting a suspicious outsider, she is torn at the prospect of betraying her new friends.
But what choice does she have? And when Garon is accused of something far worse than Jutta could imagine, can the Amana community come to his aid in time?
A Bond Never Broken is written with the same meticulous attention to detail and historical research that I have come to expect when I open a book by Judith Miller. Through her characters and stories I have learned many things about my nation’s history that I never ran across in history class.
For some reason, A Bond Never Broken moved more slowly for me and I sometimes had difficulty relating to the characters. However, that did not prevent my interest in the events that took place in Amana during the World War I years. I am not sure why I am always amazed at how cruelly humans treat each other at such times since history has certainly repeated itself again and again.
Life in the Amana villages is well illustrated with informative details about its government, customs, clothing, and daily life. The story included a bit of a mystery with fairly obvious suspects. I was not totally satisfied with the resolution of the problem but the outcome probably makes the story that much more realistic.
A Bond Never Broken is not my favorite Judith Miller book but it is still worthwhile reading. If you are a fan of historical novels, this one should be a part of your personal library.
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Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books. When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty years, her three beautiful daughters, one precious grandson, and their four character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else?
Informed by the real-life fallout of the U.S. economy plus devastation caused by multiple hurricanes along the southern coast, In the Shadow of Evil casts the modern day story of a building rebound scam exposed. It begins when the body of a property inspector is found among the ashes of a burnt out Homes of Hope house. Wrapped up in this mounting case of unethical practices, supply shortages, and murder, top Louisiana homicide detective Maddox Bishop is losing his heart to a charitable contractor, Layla Taylor, whose own sister is under suspicion. He’s also about to discover a deep secret about his tragic past.
