Smorgasbord Book Promotions – Book Review – #Contemporary #Thriller #Suspense #Loss #Love – All That Was Taken by Lisette Brodey

Delighted to share my review for the latest release by Lisette Brodey – a contemporary novel All That Was Taken

About the book

All That Was Taken is a contemporary fiction novel that delves deeply into love, loss, and healing but comes with a suspenseful twist.

For eight years, John Hennessey has lived in near-solitude on Catalina Island. He keeps his world small, for every precious thing in his life has been taken from him. But when his peaceful existence is threatened, he buys a cottage farther up the California coast in the sleepy town of Teal Beach.

There he meets Sunny Harrison, owner of the Teal Beach Sundial Inn where he stays until his cottage is ready for move in. The connection between them is magical, though both are surviving painful pasts and are afraid to trust … especially as an undercurrent of darkness dwells in their midst.

In no time at all, their quiet lives explode. Sunny receives ominous phone calls while John grapples with his own unsettling communications. Their bond strengthens as dangerous enemies threaten.

New guests at the hotel appear to have ulterior motives, and with each passing day, more and more feels eerily out of place. As tensions escalate and the enemy comes into focus, John and Sunny know they face grave danger from people with no conscience. Yet, they have no idea what diabolical plans lie in wait for them.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I write characters as I hear them speak to me. Some of these stories contain non-gratuitous expletives and sexual references. This book also contains several situations that may be triggering to some readers. If this is not to your liking, please don’t read this book. Thank you.

My review for the book April 1st 2023

Set in the idyllic location of the seasonal town of Teal Beach on the Californian coast, this is a love story that grips the reader as past and present collide with devastating effect.

When two damaged hearts find a connection it is assumed that there will be elements of the past that will be challenging. Both John and Sunny have suffered devastating losses. John has chosen to retreat from the world, but Sunny, supported by a loving family and close friends offers a cheerful and lively personality to the world whilst hiding her grief and pain behind closed doors.

Pulling the two strands of together of each of their complex lives takes skill but in the hands of the author we become witnesses to the runaway train of events that lead to a breathtaking climax.

All the characters are very vivid and believable with characteristics and traits of both good and evil wonderfully portrayed. The mystery of who is causing both John and Sunny such pain and anquish is carefully orchestrated with a drip feed of clues that lead to surprising revelations and violent confrontations.

This is also an exciting and riveting psychological thriller and as the author advises, it does contain elements that are disturbing, but they are in context and relevant to the story. I can highly recommend.

Head over to buy the book at this Universal LInk All That Was Taken

A selection of other books by Lisette Brodey

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Follow Lisette: Goodreads – Website/blog: Lisette Brodey – Twitter: @LisetteBrodey – Facebook: Brodey Author – Instagram: ca_lisette

About Lisette Brodey

Lisette was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. She spent ten years in New York City, and now resides in Los Angeles.

She’s a multigenre author of eleven novels and one short story collection: Crooked Moon (General/Literary Fiction); Squalor, New Mexico (Coming-of-Age/Literary Fiction); Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! (Women’s Fiction/romantic comedy), The Desert Series: Mystical High; Desert Star; and Drawn Apart (YA paranormal/magical realism), Barrie Hill Reunion (Literary Fiction); Hotel Obscure: A Collection of Short Stories (Literary Fiction), Love, Look Away (Women’s Fiction/romantic comedy), The Sum of our Sorrows (Contemporary Fiction/Coming-of-Age), The Waiting House: A Novel in Stories (Literary Fiction), and All That Was Taken (Contemporary Fiction.)

In addition to her eleven novels and one short story collection, two more of Lisette’s short stories are published in an anthology: Triptychs (Book 3, The Mind’s Eye Series.)

 

Thank you for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books… Sally.