Cheryl's Book Nook

In the spring of 1956, a young American photographer falls in love with a Cuban line cook in New York. They have a ten-week affair which ends when Immigration arrests and deports him, and by then Clare Miller is pregnant. Few Americans know the name Camilo Cienfuegos. All Cubans do. He was the most charismatic of Castro's rebel commanders. But Clare, who never hears from him after he's deported, believes he has died in Fidel's invasion of the island. She marries a wealthy Cuban businessman and moves to Havana with her two-year-old daughter, only to discover that her first love is not only still alive, he's now head of the Cuban Army. Clare knows that Camilo likes to dance and drink. He likes women, and too many women like him. Though his courage is legendary, when he comes to visit at night he's afraid of his daughter's moods. He feeds her, he reads to her, he changes her diapers, but for him an all-night march would be easier. Clare worries that he'll n...

Sometimes Verity Long would like to forget that she lives with the ghost of a 1920s gangster. But the reluctant housemates must once again work together when a dead detective blackmails Frankie into helping him solve a Great Gatsby-era cold case. Before she can say “bathtub gin,” Verity is dragged straight into a raging, otherworldly house party. Worse, every guest is hiding something.   Meanwhile, Ellis Wydell, Verity’s living, breathing boyfriend needs Verity’s help with a police case of his own. After a dead body is discovered near the pecan orchard, Verity gives her insights, thinking her job is done. But when mysterious pecan pies start arriving at her house, she wonders who might be thanking her… or stalking her. Between hard-living ghosts and sugar-laden desserts, Verity has her work cut out for her. But will she uncover the secrets behind the pecan pies and dead guys? Or has she stumbled upon a recipe for disaster? My Review I have been wanting to check o...

Description On the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing comes a novel in which a Jewish astronaut must reassess his moral compass when forced to confront NASA’s early collaboration with Nazis and the role it may have played in his father’s death. Jonathan Stein, the CEO of Apollo Aeronautics, has spent a lifetime determined to accomplish two tasks: First, to complete his father’s unfulfilled mission to reach the moon, and second, to forge a relationship with the reclusive Neil Armstrong. Despite a heart condition, he’s on the verge of his first goal, but has gotten nowhere with the second. Avi Stein was an Israeli pilot specially chosen to command Apollo 18 in 1974, but suffered a fatal heart attack before launch. Now, months from being able to realize his father’s dream, Jonathan discovers a “lunar hoax” conspiracy website offering a disturbing reason for Armstrong’s silence: He knows Jonathan’s father didn’t die of natural causes. While researching his father...

Description HATRED LEADS TO OBSESSION . . . It’s taken time for the plan to unfold, years spent waiting, watching, hating. . . . And after the first victim, the killing gets easier and easier . . . OBSESSION LEADS TO JEALOUSY . . . The Crissmans, owners of Crissman & Wolfe department store, were once one of Portland’s most powerful families. There’s still enough fortune left to sow mistrust between Lucy, her bohemian sister Layla, their brother Lyle, and his grasping wife Kate. When a charity event at the Crissman Lodge ends in a fatal poisoning, Lucy becomes a prime suspect. But the truth is even more twisted, and Lucy can’t be sure which of her family is being targeted . . . or who to fear. AND JEALOUSY LEADS TO MURDER . . . Renowned defense attorney Dallas Denton has been hired to clear Lucy’s name, unaware of the secret that ties them together or of the deep cracks in the Crissman legacy. Someone is ready to eliminate every obstacle to get what they most covet, and pr...

Clifton Heights is a modest Adirondack town offering many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both used paperbacks and hard to find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo's County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults, also. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. In its window hangs a sign which reads:   We Have Things You Need.   Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre.  One night, a lonely traveling salesman visits. He's looking for something; something he desperately wants. Among the shelves of Handy's Pawn and Thrift, he will face a harsh truth, however. The things people want are so very rarely the things they need. My Review I was drawn to this collection of short stories by the concept. The first several stories were fine. They had a bit of a horror element to th...

Synopsis: REPORTER BECK RIKKI again confronts the deceptions and lies of the rich and powerful in America when he is invited to meet with the chief justice of the United States, only to have the jurist show up dead. As he did in his previous outing in Naked Ambition—the first in Rick Pullen’s compelling thriller series—Beck is relentless in pursuing the truth. Yet, as he peels back the layers, he is unaware of the sleight of hand diverting his path. After all, in the real world of power, how much of the iceberg of truth can really be uncovered? To purchase:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FRZ31M9 Author bio:   Career journalist Rick Pullen was an investigative reporter before becoming a magazine editor and publisher. His journalism career includes two magazine startups and more than 70 awards for writing and design. He is a member of the Folio 100-the 100 most influential people in magazine publishing-and runner up for editor of the year. Although disgruntled subjec...

THREE BROTHERS by Joerg H. Trauboth, Thriller, 581 pp., $19.95 (paperback) $2.99 (Kindle) Title : THREE BROTHERS Author : Joerg H. Trauboth Publisher : Ratio Books Pages : 581 Genre : Thriller Marc Anderson and his two commando brothers Thomas and Tim are highly respected elite soldiers in the secretive German Commando Special Forces, the KSK. Together with the American Navy Seals, they successfully rescue the crew of a downed American F-15 tactical fighter jet in the Hindu Kusch Mountains under a barrage of heavy fire from the Taliban. However, their next mission – in Northern Iraq – to save two German hostages taken captive by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ends in disaster for the three brothers in arms. The perfectly laid-out strategy of Operation Eagle is betrayed, causes Marc, Thomas, and Tim to narrowly escape death. The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) starts the hunt for the informant. The devoted co...