Smorgasbord Book Review Round Up April 2024 – #Casinos #Thriller Cara Bertoia, #Africa #Thriller T.M. Clark, #Thriller #Suspense Mae Clair, #WWII #Italy #Romance Siobhan Daiko

Delighted to share my reviews for the month of April begining with the thriller set in a casino and its desert surroundings Casino Queen (Night Hawk Casino Series Book 1) by Cara Bertoia

My review for the book April 6th 2024

I have visited several casinos in Las Vegas and other gambling hotspots and found the fascinating, even though I only usually played the slot machines.  I don’t think that most visitors to these establishments think too much about the logistics of managing the massive movement of customers, money and the staff. The author’s own experience in working on cruise ships and casinos is very evident and it was amazing to discover all that goes on behind the scenes.

Caroline Popov is very likeable and the reader soon comes to appreciate how far she has come following heartbreak to a highly competent casino manager, who combines an eagle eye on every move made on the tables and at the slots, with an empathetic approach to staff and customers alike. Backed up by the charming John Tovar she begins the task of rooting out those who manage to evade all the surveillance equipment to line their pockets on both sides of the tables, and to build a well trained and winning team on the casino floor and behind the scenes.

This makes enemies and one in particular is prepared to use violence to exact revenge. It becomes a challenge to identify who is friend and who is intent on harming her, and trusting the wrong person might be fatal.

This is a high octane thriller with a back story filtered in to the plot as the story progresses about Caroline’s past which reinforces her strength of character and determination to work hard towards a better future.

After several surprise discoveries, there is a final twist that I certainly didn’t see coming which brought the book to a very satisfactory ending. I can highly recommend.

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – Amazon UK

My review for the book

Having grown up reading the wonderful books of Wilbur Smith, I wondered if there was another author who could write so compellingly and authentically about Africa. I am delighted to have discovered the books of T.M. Clark and having read my first, I will be reading many more.

This book is a fast paced race against time to prevent the devastating exploitation of the remaining cheetahs roaming free across the plains. Good people are making every effort to rescue and rehabilitate these beautiful creatures and return them to the wild, but the temptation for poachers are the riches to be made from a determined collector thousands of miles away.

Several organisations are involved in the challenge to prevent the loss of 100 cheetahs to be exported through corrupt accomplices at the countries borders with the preferred being the very young and vulnerable babies. When too many perish on the arduous journey, adult cheetahs are targeted, not just from the wild but from the sancturies desperately trying to save the species.

This leads to violent confrontations often targeting innocent individuals as well as those protecting the cheetahs. As the story unfolds, other interested parties on the edges of illegal wildlife activities become involved increasing the danger considerably.

The characters involved are introduced over the first few chapters of the book providing the reader with their backgrounds and motivations for being where they are now in their lives. Mackenzie and Cole head the cast on the good side of the line and despite traumatic events from their past, they find a way to bond through their love of Africa and its wildlife. They lives become entwined with the others working in the conservation organisations as they come together to prevent the escalation of poaching of the cheetahs and they become a force to be reckoned with. And they need to be, as the other side of this war are just as determined.

The story maintains its riveting pace from page one to the exciting climax when the two sides come together determined to each win the war.

I can highly recommend the book and will be reading more from this author.

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon AU –And: Amazon UK  And: Amazon US

My review for the book April 20th 2024

This is an intriguing thriller that spans ten years in the town of Hornwood. A tragedy impacting not only the young people there on the night, but a mother and daughter whose rift continues to blight their lives.

The test of a well written thriller is not just pace, but carefully crafted characters who have a pivotal role in providing background and context to the evolving story.

After ten years of wondering what happened to Janie, suddenly what was considered an accident becomes far more sinister. The author offers up the profiles of the possible suspects for the reader to begin to form their own opinion. For those investigating the case, including Nicole desperate to find out the truth and rationalise her guilt over her behaviour that fateful night, there are some clues that appear to lead nowhere.

With flashbacks from Janie’s perspective and discoveries by the investigating team, we begin to build a picture of deceit and violence hidden for a decade.  The who and why of the events leading up to the death of two young women come to a startling climax in the last pages of the book.

Definitely a page turner and one I can recommend to lover’s of thrilling murder mysteries.

Head over to read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

My review for the book

My parents met and married during WWII and my father spent most of the next five years at sea. Listening to their stories of living in the constant fear of bombing raids and serving in repeated North Atlantic convoys, it did give me an inkling of how challenging being in love could be during those turbulent years. Love comes with a price and during wartime there is a constant fear of losing the ones you are closest to.

Siobhan Daiko captures this vividly in her novel as she brings together a cast of characters thrown together by war as the allies drive up through Italy to push the enemy out after years of occupation.

Although there is a great deal of historical content regarding the allied invasion, the focus is on the individuals who discover first hand the horrors of war and loss. The author has created a wonderful chemistry between Carrie a dedicated nurse , who is struggling after a devastating loss and a young freedom fighter Vito, who is young but who has been matured beyond his years in combat. Between them is a young Jewish orphan whose injuries bring her to Carrie’s mobile hospital unit, lost and with no other relatives to care for her. She touches both their hearts as they set about trying to establish what happened to her parents.

Despite the ravages of war on both the cities and surrounding villages, the warmth of the people shines through and it was easy to become engaged in their day to day struggle to survive. The author’s attention to detail regarding this pivotal period towards the end of the war and descriptions of the stunning Italian landscape, brought authenticity and depth to the story.

I enjoyed the story very much and will be reading more by this author.

Read some of the other reviews and buy the book: Amazon UK – And: Amazon US

 

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