Book and Product Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

Free Today Through Sunday April 1! Four Kindle eBooks are available from some of our top authors!     Click Cover for Free Kindle eBook! Death Angel by Martha Powers The search for truth can be deadly.  Kate and Richard Warner have a quiet life - a routine life - until the one afternoon that changes them forever.  Within a few short hours they are thrust into the balck hole of every parent's worst nightmare.  The chief of police has singled out Richard as the primary suspect in a heinous crime that took more than an innocent life.  With Richard as a suspect, Kate's life unravels into unbearable chaos, grief, and a whole new world of deception. After a second murder, and Richard's disappearance, Kate sets out to find the killer in their midst, and clear her husband's name.  She begins to piece together an eerie puzzle, finding clues in the heart of her own community.  In Death Angel , anguish, suspicion, and death combine in the horrifying afte

Kfir Luzzatto's Books Released April 2012 Kfir Luzzatto Pine Ten LLC Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Professor Franco Lorenzi gets dragged into a century-old mystery that leaves him unsure of who he can trust and who he cannot. Everything starts when a mysterious man, Sir James Easby, visits him asking for a favor. A distant relative of Franco's is sick and only a blood relative can save her. Just as suddenly as Easby appears, he announces he has another appointment and that his organization, The European Historical Communication Society, will be in touch. Soon, Franco receives another visit, this time from a woman claiming to be part of The European Cult Watch Committee. She states the committee works with agencies such as the FBI and Interpol. She needs Franco to become close to Easby because they're convinced Easby is part of a dangerous cult. Caught up in a dangerous cat and mouse game, Franco soon learns that he's a pawn in a situation that dates back

Released February 2012 T. S. Poetry Press Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth I think I read about 80 percent of Deborah Henry's The Whipping Club with clenched fists. As a mother, the story outraged me. Worse is that I know that some nuns in that era did treat children in this manner. I've heard the horror stories from my Mom (she's English) about the nuns in all-girl Catholic schools cracking students across the back of the hand with bamboo canes or metal-edged rulers. Despite this, my Mom has also said there are sisters and priests who were incredibly fair, caring individuals who she'll always remember. It's not hard to imagine that children in orphanages or schools for "troubled" children were treated even more deplorably. It ticks me off though. Pregnant and unmarried, Marian McKeever agrees with her uncle, a priest, to enter a home for unmarried girls to have their child. She's hesitant on giving up her child, however, because the baby

Released March 27, 2012 Eileen Goudge Open Road Media Book review by Tracy Farnsworth Wow! Just wow! The Replacement Wife is a novel that will stick with me for years. If I wasn't snickering, I was sobbing. I admit I haven't always liked Eileen Goudge's novels, but she hit a home run when she wrote this book. As a successful matchmaker, Camille Hart has an amazing instinct at matching single men and women. Her track record is impressive and she has a long list of clients to show for her successes. When she learns her cancer has returned and that it's highly unlikely she'll survive this aggressive stage-four cancer, she decides to start finding her husband a potential replacement before her death. Camille's husband, Edward, is outraged at first, but he loves her so much that he agrees. She simply wants reassurance that when she goes, her children will be well cared for, and his career as a successful doctor often requires long hours. When she star

Released May 2012 Ardie A. Davis Chef Paul Kirk Andrews McMeel Publishing Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Ardie Davis, founder of the American Royal International BBQ championship, and Chef Paul Kirk, known as the Kansas City Baron of Barbecue, pair up to bring a selection of the country's best rib rubs, sauces, and recipes. America's Best Ribs showcases more than the recipes, however, it also offers a huge variety of tips, stories, and ever mistakes some people make when barbecuing ribs in professional contests. There are also recipes for sides and desserts to serve with your succulent ribs. America's Best Ribs is broken down into essential sections that include: Rib Basics Pork Ribs Beef & Bison Ribs Lamb & Mutton Ribs Sides Desserts Resources Metric Conversions and Equivalents  Before diving into the recipes, the cookbook starts with one of the things I feel is most important. Choosing your ingredients. They discuss the one thing that not e

Released April 24, 2012 Diane Chamberlain Mira/Harlequin Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth As a teenage, Travis Brown made a tough decision. He claimed his newborn daughter and promised to do whatever it took to raise her in a happy home. For close to four years, he kept that promise. He spent years on his career in construction while his mom watched Bella. However, his world comes crashing down leaving him without a career and without a home. Facing homelessness, Travis vows to do whatever it takes to keep Bella fed and to get a roof over her head again. When he's offered a job that pays $500 cash every time he works, he thinks his luck is changing. He soon learns that the choices he makes may tear Bella from his arms forever. The Good Father is a tender story of the love a man has for his little girl and the strength it takes to keep her safe.  The story is told from three different points of view. Travis shares his side of the story. His former girlfriend, Bella's

Released March 20, 2012 Raeanne Thayne Harlequin Book review by Tracy Farnsworth Laura Pendleton is back at her mother's inn following a disastrous marriage to a man who was happier than his mistresses than seemingly with her. After her husband's death, Laura had to leave Spain where she learned her late husband was heavily in debt. With her two young kids to raise, Laura hopes to avoid Taft Bowman, the man to whom she was once engaged. Unfortunately, Taft, chief of the local fire department, enters her life rather quickly when her son finds a lighter and plays with it setting fire to a room at the inn. Taft's personal problems got in the way of his and Laura's relationship once, but he never stopped loving her. Now that she's back, he wants to show her he's a changed man and ready to become both a husband and father to her two children. A Cold Creek Reunion brings the reader back to Cold Creek. I admit this is the first of the Cold Creek series I&

Released December 23, 2011 Vicki Hinze Bell Bridge Books Book review by Tracy Farnsworth This third entry into Vicki Hinze's (written as Victoria Barrett) Seascape novel is one of my favorites. Beside a Dreamswept Sea is a book I cherished when it was originally released in 1997. If you've never read this series, be thankful that Bell Bridge Books has reissued them. Since his wife's death, Bryce Richards has known one thing - his children need a mother. He never expects the newly divorced wife of his last client to show up in the quaint Maine inn where he is currently staying. Cally never expected to be divorced. She loved her husband, and always pictured them raising a number of children. His announcement that he couldn't have children and didn't want to talk about adoption was a blow. It doesn't take long before she's falling head over heels with Bryce's three children. Cally and Bryce forge into new territory as both are hesitant to ev

Last week wasn't a good week. Our septic tank stopped draining effectively, and the septic guys found a collapsed section of pipe. The people who were supposed to fix the issue came out, charged us $300 and said there was nothing they could do unless we paid them $600 to $700 to bring out excavators. We have another person coming out tomorrow who said he can replace the collapsed section of pipe and then run a camera down to see if there are other issues before bringing out the heavy machinery. But life with limited use of a septic tank means we're having to do laundry elsewhere, and that's pretty time consuming on top of freelance writing jobs. I can't push my writing work off, so I'm focusing on that so that there is money coming in to take care of these bills we're facing. Meanwhile, I'd planned to read yesterday, but our oldest cat took a major turn for the worse and needed my attention throughout the day and night. The vet still can

Released February 21, 2012 Karen Harper Mira/Harlequin Book review by Tracy Farnsworth Return to Grace , the second book in the Home Valley Amish series, focuses on Hannah Esh. Hannah left her Amish life after her intended got another woman pregnant and called off their engagement. Giving up everything, she entered the world hoping to start a music career. Despite her dreams, she's always felt herself pulled back to her Amish life. She happens to be in the Amish cemetery with her friends when someone shoots at them. One person is dead and Hannah suffers serious damage after a bullet hits her wrist. Needing to recuperate, Hannah returns to her family home. It isn't long before someone tries to break into Hannah's bedroom via the window and FBI agent Linc Armstrong ( Fall from Pride ) is on the case trying to discover if this is a hate crime against the Amish or if Hannah's former beau, Seth, isn't happy that she's back in town. Hannah can't believ

Released September 2011 Donnell Ann Bell Bell Bridge Books Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth The Past Came Hunting is part romance, part suspense and definitely holds your interest. As a teen, Melanie made some bad choices. While hitchhiking, she manages to escape from the clutches of a perverted older man and ends up accepting a ride from a rich teen. Unfortunately, she learns a little too late that this teen is no good. She's arrested as an accomplice in a robbery at gunpoint and agrees to testify against him. This leads to his vow that he'll find and kill her. Fifteen years later, Melanie is a single mom trying to put her past behind her. She moves into a new home only to find out that her new neighbor is the cop, Joe, who arrested her. The guy she testified against is out of jail and disappears. Everyone suspects that he's going to try to hunt Melanie down to make good on this threat. Melanie must trust in Joe's skills as a life-long policeman, a feat no

Released April 2012 Jacqueline Diamond Harlequin Book review by Tracy Farnsworth I have a few guilty pleasures, very dark chocolate and Jacqueline Diamond's Safe Harbor Medical romance series generally top the list. Because I've read this series from the beginning, I feel like I've really gotten to know each character over a span of years rather than just a couple hours. The Baby Dilemma is the next book in this long-running series. Doctor Paige Brennan has delivered so many babies and helped so many women become pregnant that she can't ignore her own longing for a child. The problem is she has never found Mr. Right. Taking advantage of the fertility clinic, Paige undergoes artificial insemination and winds up pregnant just as Mike Aaron enters her life. Knowing his stance on children has Paige worried about what happens when she has to reveal her news. Private detective Mike Aaron has seen his foster brothers and sisters end up in happy marriages raising t