The Clockmaker's Secret by Jack Benton

The Clockmaker's Secret by Jack Benton (Chris Ward) is the second book in the Slim Hardy Mystery series.



About:  

A buried clock holds the key to a decades-old mystery.

On holiday to escape the nightmares of his last case, disgraced soldier turned private detective John “Slim” Hardy comes upon something buried in the peat on Bodmin Moor.

Unfinished and water-damaged but still ticking, the old clock provides a vital clue to an unsolved missing-persons case.

As Slim begins to ask questions of the tiny Cornish village of Penleven, he is drawn into a world of lies, rumours, and secrets, some of which the residents would prefer to stay buried.

Twenty-three years ago, a reclusive clockmaker left his workshop and walked out onto Bodmin Moor, taking his last, unfinished clock with him.

He disappeared.

Slim is determined to find out why.

The Clockmaker’s Secret is the stunning sequel to Jack Benton’s acclaimed debut, The Man by the Sea."

I read The Man by the Sea earlier this year. I was excited to  read the second book in this series.

This book is  the best mystery I have read this year. The mystery of the clock goes way deeper than just a clock found in the sand. We learn more about Slim as a person, and although he is pretty damaged, you will feel a lot of empathy toward him and all of the characters in the story. One character that I especially like, besides Slim, is Mrs. Greyson. Slim is renting a room from her during his "break". I liken her to Sherlock's Mrs. Hudson. She, along with everyone else he meets, has their own secrets. Many of the people in the village really want Slim to quit nosing around.

The mystery and Slim's journey to find the secret is very intriguing. The writing is so good, that you will be engrossed in the story and the characters. 

I couldn't put it down. I did not see the ending coming. Seriously.
I can't wait to read more Slim Hardy books. I believe book three is in the works.

The book officially comes out October 15, 2018, when it will be available Kindle. It is available for preorder. You can get the paperback now on Amazon.



I received a free copy and voluntarily submitted this review.

The Artisan Heart by Dean Mayes

This is the most recent book by an author I have talked about and really like.
The Artisan Heart by Dean Mayes.



About:
"Hayden Luschcombe is a brilliant paediatrician living in Adelaide with his wife Bernadette, an ambitious event planner. His life consists of soul-wrenching days at the hospital and tedious evenings attending the lavish parties organized by Bernadette.

When an act of betrayal coincides with a traumatic confrontation, Hayden flees Adelaide, his life in ruins. His destination is Walhalla, nestled in Australia's southern mountains, where he finds his childhood home falling apart. With nothing to return to, he stays, and begins to pick up the pieces of his life by fixing up the house his parents left behind.

A chance encounter with a precocious and deaf young girl introduces Hayden to Isabelle Sampi, a struggling artisan baker. While single-handedly raising her daughter, and trying to resurrect a bakery, Isabelle has no time for matters of the heart. Yet the presence of the handsome doctor challenges her resolve. Likewise, Hayden, protective of his own fractured heart, finds something in Isabelle that awakens dormant feelings of his own.

As their attraction grows, and the past threatens their chance at happiness, both Hayden and Isabelle will have to confront long-buried truths if they are ever to embrace a future."


No this isn't a mystery. But it is soooo good.

This is an excellently written book that will play with your emotions. The characters are interesting, some are very likeable, some are despicable. There is romance, deceit, danger, and suspense. Very good descriptions of Walhalla. You will wish you were there. Just when you think all is well, the author throws you a sudden curve. Yes, I was screaming at the author. Yes I sent him an email and said "What?! What have you done? (basically)." This book is a page turner, plenty of suspense, so you will not be able to put it down. It is such a good book, I didn't want it to end.

Here are a couple of interviews with Dean about The Artisan Heart. 

1. Inteview with David Bevan at ABC radio in Adelaide. (Dean is on the left)



https://soundcloud.com/dean-mayes/david-bevans-book-of-the-week

2. Dean's Facebook page: The Hambledown Dreamer

Link or paste into FB
https://www.facebook.com/bookstr/videos/1130705223765536/?t=0

Or on Facebook, search for Dean Mayes The Hambledown Dreamer, then scroll down a couple of posts to the interview with Laura at Bookstr in New York.

Selkie Moon series and Onyx Webb series

Quick short plug for a couple of my favorite series and authors.

Both have updated their covers and now have the series in box sets.

Selkie Moon by Virginia King - three book set. Virginia is working on Book 4. Yay.
You can get this set on Kindle for $14.99. You may want the paperbacks though. Cool covers.





About: 

"Selkie Moon’s business card should read Reluctant Psychic.

Travelling the world to run business seminars, she’s drawn into solving mystical mysteries that spring from the local folklore.

Armed with psychic twinges that are hardly reliable, she must untangle the truth from the superstition – and face down the demons in her own mind.

“Imagine an Indiana Jones adventure only on a more personal, psychic level – with mystery and suspense embedded in the bigger picture of self-discovery.” Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

The First Lie
Escaping her abusive husband to start over in Hawaii, suddenly Selkie’s on an odyssey through mystical clues and psychic messages to discover who’s trying to kill her. As the threats escalate, her visions hint at long-buried secrets of love and betrayal – and a danger that lurks closer than she could have imagined. Will she uncover the life-changing truth before time runs out?

The Second Path
1. Selkie wakes one morning to find a bizarre collection of items scattered across the floor, items she gathered in her sleep: a rock, a spoon, a message scrawled in lipstick … What do they all mean? Filled with mythical clues, fear and laughter, her investigation leads her around the globe from Honolulu, to Sydney, then Paris – to unravel the mystery behind the word that keeps haunting her: home.

The Third Note
When Selkie receives a parcel from her great grandmother 35 years after her death, opening it seems like such a bad idea. But curiosity wins and the contents plunge Selkie into long-buried family secrets. Suddenly an old mystery echoes with the present: frightening visions, deadly encounters and a pull from the past that won’t let go. Drawn into a web of psychic clues, Selkie must delve deep into the folklore of Ireland where superstition still weaves a powerful – and fatal – spell.

If you love mysteries that keep you turning the pages – with lightning pace, twists and turns you never see coming, quirky clues and a sprinkling of the supernatural – then you’ll love The Mysteries of Selkie Moon."


2. Onyx Webb by Diandra Archer - nine book set

Andrea Waltz and Richard Fenton have released this series with the pen name Diandra Archer and new covers. I love them. I think they are working on another book related to this series...




About:

"For Onyx Webb, life was difficult. And it hasn't gotten any easier now that she's dead.

After billionaire playboy Koda Mulvaney sees a girl in a mirror, his obsession with her turns his life upside down. After Juniper Cole disappears from her prom in 1979, her brother's best friend becomes the number one suspect. Onyx Webb visits the 1906 World's Fair and what happens there will alter her life forever.

These events begin a dark and twisted web of betrayal, revenge, murder and love. Like binge watching your favorite supernatural show on Netflix, you will get hopelessly entangled by the characters, both dead and alive. If you don't believe in ghosts now, don't worry. You will. 

The only way out is to keep going."

These books are very quick reads and one leads to the next, so I recommend you get the nine book series. Through Kindle Unlimited, the set is only $34. BUT the covers are so awesome, you may want to get the paperbacks.

If you want to take a closer look, here is the website:

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton on Masterpiece.

Did you watch the first episode of The Miniaturist on Masterpiece last Sunday?

I kept seeing the ads for it but ignored it. When I got an email from our local PBS station about it, and read it, I tuned in. I had no idea it was kind of a mystery. Would you call it that?
So I watched it and was spellbound. No pun intended. What's more, I realized of have the ebook and hadn't looked at it. Geez.




About: 
Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam--a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion--a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant.

"There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . ."

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office--leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.
But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist--an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes' gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand--and fear--the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth."

This television adaptation has wonderful scenery and costumes. It is also very eerie. Nella's mother encourages Nella to accept a marriage to Johannes Brandt, a man she has never met. He will pay off the family debts if Nella agrees to marry him. When Nella arrives at the house, Johannes isn't there to greet her. Only two servants and Marin, Johannes' sister are there. She is stern and weird. Right away, she won't let Nella keep her parakeet she has brought with her, in her room. He is banished to the kitchen. (I am a little worried about him.) Marin instructs Nella to keep the huge draperies opened at all times so the town can see Johannes' "new wife".

As above, Johannes finally shows up and gives her a large replica of the house, to do with what she wants. Marin puts her in touch with a person in town that can make miniatures for it. When Nella visits the shop, there is no one there and it is closed. But she places her order for a few items under the door. Her order is delivered but in addition to what she ordered, there are other items that she did not order. A cradle. A replica of Johanne's dog. A desk including a key. A chair. Dolls of Johannes and Marin. Nella promptly stands the Marin doll on her head in her room. lol

Soon Nella realizes the things are exactly as things in her room, i.e. the chair. She freaks out, sure that someone is spying on her and sends a note to pay for the items but says she will not order anything else.

Johanne is kind of nice to her, bought her a bunch of new dresses to show her off in etc. But otherwise he ignores her. Between his treatment of her and the creepy "doll house",  Nella is not very happy. 

I won't spoil the ending of the first episode. I highly recommend this series. It is creepy and mysterious. 

 There are two more episodes. Sunday's on PBS, 7 p.m. central time.  Looks like you will have to watch the first online, but well worth it.

The Great American Read

Thought this was worth sharing.

The Great American Read Season Two series starts tonight on PBS at 7 p.m. central time. You may have seen an opportunity to vote for your favorite book this summer. This series will feature the top 100 American books based on this national survey. I voted for a couple of my favorites and am pleased to see them on the list.



About:

"THE GREAT AMERICAN READ is an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey)*.  It investigates how and why writers create their fictional worlds, how we as readers are affected by these stories, and what these 100 different books have to say about our diverse nation and our shared human experience.  

The television series features entertaining and informative documentary segments, with compelling testimonials from celebrities, authors, notable Americans and book lovers across the country. It is comprised of a two-hour launch episode in which the list of 100 books is revealed, five one-hour theme episodes that examine concepts common to groups of books on the list, and a finale, in which the results are announced of a nationwide vote to choose America’s best-loved book.  

The series is the centerpiece of an ambitious multi-platform digital, educational and community outreach campaign, designed to get the country reading and passionately talking about books.

*PBS does not endorse any titles on the top 100 list."

Check out the website.  http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/home/
They list of books is available with a check list so you can check off which ones you have read. You can still vote for your favorites. There is a Great American Read NY Crossword Puzzle, a Great American Read book club and other resources. 

Looks like I have read 27 of the 100 books and seen 25 of the movies, some of which I have seen the movie but have not read the book. Also, I think I can put my hands on 5-10 others that are in my house from when my kids read them in school. 

Fun for a book lover to peruse. I will be watching the series.

How many of the books have you read?