Julianna Deering: Death At Thornburn Hall

By Kelly Bridgewater

The Fartherings' Scottish Holiday Takes a Dark Turn

Drew Farthering arrives in idyllic Scotland for the 1935 British Open at Muirfield hoping for a relaxing holiday, but he soon finds a mystery on his hands. Lord Rainsby, his host at Thorburn Hall, fears his business partner may be embezzling and asks Drew to quietly investigate. Before Drew can uncover anything, Rainsby is killed in a suspicious riding accident.

Thorburn Hall is filled with guests, and as Drew continues to dig, he realizes that each might have had a motive to put Rainsby out of the way. Together with Madeline and Nick, he must sort through shady business dealings, international intrigue, and family tensions to find a killer who always seems to be one step ahead.

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My Thoughts:

I love history. I love suspense. Putting them together seems to be a great novel for me. With historical mysteries, many of them leave something to be desired in my opinion. But Julianna Deering and Rachel McMillan are my favorite two authors who write historical mysteries in the early twentieth century. I love how both authors create characters who are loveable and stick with you long after the novel is done. The mystery is just right. The settings are wonderful. As for Deering's final installment in her Drew Farthering series, I really enjoyed Death at Thornburn Hall as well as all the other books.

The plot is what grips me in a historical mystery. I need to be drawn into the story pretty quickly and allowed to sit and hang out for a while. Deering does a fabulous job at inviting me into Drew and Madeline's life before the mystery even occurs. Usually they are just going along, like in Death at Thornburn Hall, on a horse ride, and they stumble across a dead body, which in turns throws Drew into solving the mystery mode. The mystery was written really well. Even though I had a really good suspicion who was the bad guy was, Deering proved me right.

Since the story centers around the 1930's, Deering included some historical elements of Hitler, which we know now, is the precursor to World War II. I enjoyed seeing that hinted at in the plot, especially since I'm a huge World War II fantic.

The romance really centered around NIck and Carrie, who have been flirting around the idea of a relationship since the series started with Rules of Murder. Madeline and Drew play more matchmaker than anything, but it was nice seeing a married couple interact after we watched their dating era.

Overall, Death at Thornburn Hall by Julianna Deering is a nice way to end the series. Hanging out with Drew and Madeline for so long reminds me of some distant cousin who you see once a year at the holidays, but when you play catch up, it is like no time has parted you at all. I love the mystery in this addition, it was more sneaky and kept me glued to the page. I really wish there were more, but for now, this is the last book that I know of. I highly recommend if you like Deering's writing, than pick up Rachel McMillan's Herringford and Watts Mysteries series.

I received a complimentary copy of Death at Thornburn Hall by Julianna Deering from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Ability to Storytell Part I

By Kelly Bridgewater

What motivates you to write?

A familiar question with a familiar answer. Some say a certain person. Some say a certain event in their past shoved them into storytelling,

BUT . . .

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I want to share my creative path to wanting to write.

When I was a little girl, I had an overactive imagination, which I passed onto my oldest who is fifteen years old. I loved playing with my Barbie's, Polly Pocket, and anything else to spark my imagination on a daily basis. I could play for hours, and I mean hours at a time with my Barbie's. My mother used to wonder how I could play for hours talking to toys that didn't talk back.

As I played outside, I would draw an imaginary house on the driveway in our front yard. Our driveway sloped upwards, so I would outline a couch with end tables and make a kitchen, but as you went up higher, you went to the bedroom and bathroom. Now the house looked like you were looking down from the sky, so you could see a circle inside a square and notice it was a lamp on an end table. I would play in my "house" with my best friend, Robin.

I also had an imaginary friend named Jessica, who was the nicest person I knew. We would ride our bikes together and run laps around the neighborhood and yard just for fun. Jessica would go away when I entered the house, but she hung out a lot with me when I roamed the neighborhood. 

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My friend, Robin, and I would always play in her side yard, using our imaginations. We were always twins separated at birth. She would always go to the poorer family and have an attitude; whereas, I would go the wealthier family and be snobby. We used a tree as our horses by bouncing the tree branch up and down. The house across the street had the perfect "stair-stepping" tree, so we would climb his tree and hang out in the top for hours. (Back then, neighbors allowed those type of things. He wasn't worried. We were having fun.) When Robin's family upgraded and received a pool, we would spend hours playing mermaids and who could hold their breath under the water the longest.

What would you do as a child to feed your imagination? Please, come back next week where I share the second part to my writing journey. I would love to have a discussion with you guys about the creative things you did as a child. Don't allow me to think I was the only one that did this!!!

Shelley Shepard Gray: Love Held Captive

By Kelly Bridgewater

After the War Between the States, a Confederate officer longs to heal the heart of a beautiful woman—but first he’ll have to right the wrongs that were done to her.

Major Ethan Kelly has never been able to absolve himself of the guilt he feels for raiding a woman’s home shortly before he was taken prisoner during the Civil War. He is struggling to get through each day until he once again crosses paths with Lizbeth Barclay—the very woman he is trying to forget.

Life after the war is not much different for former Captain Devin Monroe until he meets Julianne VanFleet. He knows she is the woman he’s been waiting for, but he struggles to come to terms with the sacrifices she made to survive the war.

When Ethan and Devin discover that their former colonel, Adam Bushnell, is responsible for both Lizbeth’s and Julianne’s pain, they call on their former fellow soldiers to hunt him down. As the men band together to earn the trust of the women they love, Lizbeth and Julianne seek the justice they deserve in a country longing to heal

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I am not a fan of Civil War stories, expect Tamera Alexander's writing. This is the second book in this series that I have read. From the beginning, I was confused on who the women were. There were two sets of women and men, and I had a hard time telling them apart until about a third of the way in. My mind thought they were the same people. Until my mind wrapped around that they were two sets, the story was a little confusing. As for the plot, it takes place in one week. In that one week, both Ethan Kelly and Devin Monroe decide they love these tarnished women and want to marry them. The whole story centers around learning the back story of all four characters and how they would work past their past. I wanted the final showdown to be something big, but it took until about 95 percent into the book to get there, and it was over in one shot. Disappointing. While I had issues with the plot, Gray does do a great job at her research. The story did fit the time period and felt like a Civil War era novel. I'm truly gratetful when an author does that for a book. Makes me admire them a little more. Overall, with a confusing beginning and a lackluster plot, I don't think I would have picked this book up on my own.

I received a complimentary copy of Love Held Captive by Shelley Shepard Gray from Zondervan Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

DADDY: 2 Years

By Kelly Bridgewater

In four days I will be celebrating two years since my Daddy died.

Two years.

Wow!

There are days I still can't believe it has been two years already. 

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The one thing that bothers me is that the pain has lessen A LOT, which is a good thing. I don't think of my Daddy all the time. A certain song comes on or a movie that I enjoyed with my father will bring me to tears. Talking about my Daddy with my brother and sister will also do it.

But for the most part, I have learned to live without him.

Which I really HATE to say.

Here is a blog post that I wrote a year and a half ago that showed my hurt. Now, not so much. Father's Day was hard, but I have learned to accept that I will see my father again in heaven. I just have to wait until it's my turn to go.

A trusted and Godly friend suggested writing a letter to my father with all the pain I had and allowed myself to express my hurt to him. I wrote in my journal and have written a number more of them. Usually when I feel like I need to talk to my Daddy, I write him a letter in my journal. Whether or not, he actually sees them or knows I wrote them I don't know, but it brings me some type of peace as I record my thoughts and feelings to my Daddy. It is also the journal where I record a number of my prayers and Bible study notes and letters to my children that hopefully one day they will treasure. 

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I just wanted to spend today, treasuring and honoring the memory of my late Daddy and allowing you to see how much the ache and pain is and how far I have come.

If you have lost someone near and dear to you too, I'm sorry. If not, I hope you don't have to endure this pain for a long time.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings!

Michelle Griep: 12 Days at Bleakly Manor

By Kelly Bridgewater

A mysterious invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home may bring danger...and love?

England, 1851: When Clara Chapman receives an intriguing invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home, she is hesitant yet feels compelled to attend—for if she remains the duration of the twelve-day celebration, she is promised a sum of five hundred pounds.

But is she walking into danger? It appears so, especially when she comes face to face with one of the other guests—her former fiancé, Benjamin Lane.

Imprisoned unjustly, Ben wants revenge on whoever stole his honor. When he’s given the chance to gain his freedom, he jumps at it—and is faced with the anger of the woman he stood up at the altar. Brought together under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Ben discover that what they’ve been striving for isn’t what ultimately matters.

What matters most is what Christmas is all about . . . love.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I, personally, have never read anything by Michelle Griep. I do have a number of her books downloaded to my Kindle, but I haven't had the time to read them yet. The book 12 Days at Bleakly Manor was my first introduction to Griep's writing. With the setting being in London, I was interested in the plot right away. The story is a historical romance, so I was pretty sure the historical setting with the characters would be interesting.

Griep's writing is top notch. I had no problem picturing Bleakly Manor at all. Griep sprinkled in just enough description to capture my attention as Clara and Ben moved through the house. I could feel the cold outside and imagine that I was belonged in the house during the twelve days of Christmas. She did a great job at inviting me into the Manor just like she did her characters.

The characters were interesting too. I loved the strange cast of characters that she used to tell her story. All of them were different, but each one of them had their own vices that made them stand out. I loved seeing Clara and Ben interact after so much trials and misunderstanding which had affected their relationship. They were a nice couple to watch as they loved blossomed after their misunderstanding came to light.

As for the plot, it did remind me of the 1980's movie Clue, but with a British Christmas twist. I enjoy the mystery. The entire time I couldn't wait to meet who the master of the house was. Griep did a great job at intertwining the mystery into the Christmas story. When I started the novel, I was drawn in right away to the plot. I had a hard time believing it was a novella. Most novellas feel short and not fully developed, but I didn't feel this way with Griep's novel. It felt complete, and I really can't wait for the next addition. Next fall seems too far away.

Overall, 12 Days at Bleakly Manor captured my interest because of the mystery, London setting, and the Christmas time of the year. I highly recommend this book to fans of Charles Dickens and fans of  a good mystery. I can't wait to see what the next book entails.

I received a complimentary copy of 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep from Barbour Books, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars