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Finlay Donovan is a recently divorced mother of two little children and is far from killing it at life. She’s months behind on her newest novel, has more overdue bills than she cares to count, a garage door that won’t close, and an ex-husband dead set on receiving full custody of their two children. But, for Finlay things are going to get even more complicated. While discussing her book with her publisher at a local Panera, a woman overhears Finlay and mistakes her for a hitwoman, and she has a little problem she wants Finlay to take care of. What ensues is a hilarious tale of what one woman will do to kill it at life.
In one simple word, this book could be described as hilarious. The subject matter could be dark, but Ms. Cosimano has created a fantastic character in Finlay Donovan, a mom who has been pushed just a bit too hard and is looking for a way to keep her children out of the hands of her cheating ex-husband. Though I’m not a mother myself I do think many women can relate to Finlay’s struggles, as well as her humor about her situation. Finlay knows what she is doing is wrong, but isn’t your husband cheating on your real estate agent also just as bad?
Finlay is soon joined by her babysitter, Vero. This college student is probably my favorite character in the story. She’s sassy, self assured, and her humor is one of my favorite aspects of this book. These two oddball characters find themselves in deep trouble when a well meaning bartender and a young, ambitious detective become involved, only complicating the plot but also providing more insane situations that Finlay and Vero have to get out of.
There is truly nothing I didn’t dislike about this book. It could be argued that the plot if predictable and that it’s not necessarily a deep mystery where you have to guess the killer. Nonetheless, it is one of those books that you can fly through and, if you are down and having a bad day, it will immediately put you into a better move. For that, I loved this book and believe it might become one of my favorite books moving forward.
5 out of 5 stars
Hello fellow readers! Here is the last teaser for Infiltration, which you can now pick up and if you haven’t, make sure you do 
Infiltration ©Rachel R. Heil 2023
Ernst never looked forward to his meetings with Bruckmann but now he enjoyed them even less. Since hiring Lina, Bruckmann had been on Ernst like an annoying nit that wouldn’t go away.
“Has she said anything that could link her with the Brotherhood?” Bruckmann’s sweaty face was inches from Ernst, who resisted the urge to smack it away.
“No,” Ernst replied. “She’s being careful, if she is involved.”
“If?” Ulrich looked at his friend, his skin crawling with frustration. “Ernst, she’s involved. You said so yourself.”
“Pardon me,” Ernst rolled his eyes in exasperation. He was beginning to wish he hadn’t come up with the idea in the first place.
No, he didn’t mean that for as much as Ernst knew he had hired Lina to fulfill an investigation he also knew that he was beginning to like her. She was the first person in a long time that Ernst enjoyed seeing. She was kind to him, willing to humor his stupid jokes, and tease with the same ruthlessness he gave out. For the first time in many years, Ernst looked forward to going into work.
“I have Mielke breathing down my neck about this case,” Bruckmann forced his fat body down onto his chair. “Maybe if she worked for me we would be getting somewhere.”
Ernst cringed at the idea of Lina being anywhere near his ugly, obese, lustful superior. She didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserved that.
“These things take time,” Ernst retorted. “She’s playing it safe, gaining my trust. She’ll slip up sooner or later.”
“Better be soon,” Bruckmann sat back in his chair, which made a notable squeaky noise under the mass of his body. “It’s only a matter of time before the Brotherhood gets comfortable again and starts to act up. The political situation isn’t help with that Gorbachev in Moscow apologizing for everything left and right. There’s even talk of him opening up the state archives to the public. Laying out all of the Soviet Union’s dirty laundry.”
“Surely he wouldn’t,” Ulrich rested his arms on the chair’s. “That would be suicide for the Party.”
“He’s destroying everything that makes up the Socialist ideal,” Bruckmann grabbed his handkerchief from his tunic pocket and dabbed his forehead. “Idiot. He’ll be the death of us. He’ll make the entire system weak and do you know what happens when systems become weak?” Bruckmann suddenly jumped straight in his chair and slammed a large hand down on his desk, startling Ulrich but Ernst didn’t flinch. “They attack! And the Brotherhood will be more than happy to serve the Stasi on a silver platter and you,” Bruckmann pointed a finger at Ernst, “better find those people or I swear to God I’ll make sure you are the first one to face the tribunal.”
Ernst resisted the urge to push Bruckmann’s finger away from his face but he did politely remind his superior, “There has been attacks against the Stasi since it was established. We’ve crushed them every time. Besides, we all know the citizens of the regime don’t have the strength and resources to take down the system.”
“But the West does,” Bruckmann snarled.
“The West doesn’t care,” Ernst reminded him. “If they truly did care they would have done something by now.” He shrugged. “But they prefer to put their heads in the sand. You’ve read the reports of how Westerners view the GDR and its people.”
“That is true,” Ulrich supported.
Bruckmann’s stance seemed to soften at the argument.
“Don’t worry, sir,” Ernst smirked, “no one will be coming for you anytime soon.”
Ernst thought about what was said in that meeting as he drove home that night, down the abandoned roads and darkened buildings, careful to avoid the potholes that had been caused by Soviet artillery and never properly patched up. Despite the world the Firm had created and the one many continued to live in one would have to be stupid to not recognize that the outside was changing.
The Party bigwigs in the Soviet Union were dwindling and Gorbachev was proving to be far more difficult that anyone imagined, undoubtedly feeling the pressure from those abroad. There had been enough people who had escaped the Eastern Bloc to share the horrors they witnessed and what their families and friends were still suffering under. People in the West knew about the Stasi and what men like Ernst did. Now the Americans and British had elected themselves leaders who were making it their sole purpose to take down Communism and, if that happened, men like Ernst would be among the first casualties. All the West needed was someone from the inside to bring about that collapse and the Brotherhood would be the ones up for the challenge.
Link: https://mybook.to/InfiltrationHeil
Here’s another teaser of Infiltration! Enjoy!
Infiltration ©Rachel R. Heil 2023
“You’ve completely lost your mind,” Ulrich told him matter-of-factly at lunch when Ernst had revealed his plan to his friend.
Anxiously looking around at the others in the cafeteria, Ulrich snarled at Ernst, “You want a suspected terrorist to be your secretary?”
“You did say I was in desperate need of one,” Ernst sat back in his chair, dangling a cigarette between his fingers.
“No one is that desperate,” Ulrich’s face was tight was indignation as he poked at his soup.
“Ulrich, you must think of this logically,” Ernst leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table. “We are getting nowhere with Logan and the officer tracking Daniel Prochnow. We are essentially in the same spot as before we caught Bauer. We’ve now been given a golden opportunity to infiltrate the group.”
“If she’s involved,” Ulrich reminded him.
Ernst inhaled his cigarette before blowing out the smoke with annoyance. “She is. No one goes through what she did and not want revenge against the person whose behind it. Bruckmann agreed with me when I proposed the idea to him.”
“Ernst,” Ulrich folded his arms and placed them on the table. “She has no idea you signed off on the orders.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ernst burned the cigarette out on his plate. “She wants revenge against me. To her, I am the embodiment of evil and need to be stopped.”
“And so you’re going to stop her by having her be in a position where she’s with you all day?” Ulrich was nearly laughing. He grabbed his glass of water and shook his head. “You are a lunatic.”
Ernst began to wonder if he was but whatever way he looked at it, bringing Prochnow in as his secretary and having access to her for several hours of a day might just be the break his investigation needed. The only thing that still troubled him was that he might have to sign off on the execution order for Prochnow as he had done for Bauer.
Ulrich sighed heavily, finishing his water and placing the empty glass down. “You know I’ll support you but I think this is risky.”
Ernst smiled. “Most of what we do is risky.”
Link: https://mybook.to/InfiltrationHeil
Hello fellow readers! Today I’m sharing with you the #2 teaser for my upcoming release Infiltration. Enjoy!
Infiltration ©Rachel R. Heil 2023
The acceptance of Lina as Ernst Jung’s personal secretary came sooner than she had anticipated. The day before the Brotherhood’s weekly meeting she received a letter in the mail from Jung, informing her that her job application had been accepted and she should report to his office on the first of June.
Lina felt a wave of joyous success but also mind-numbing fear. She had successfully entered the Stasi and would have access to the cases Jung was in charge of. But she was also entering the inner sanctum of the devil and his minions, Jung chief among them. Lina would have to tread carefully but she knew she could do it.
The Brotherhood were less inclined.
“You are not naïve,” Hannah spoke slowly and methodically after Lina had told them. “You are positively stupid.”
Daniel, standing on the opposite side of the table from Hannah, lunged forward, only held back by Bernhard. “You’re ignorant. My sister has done more for this movement than you have done in your entire existence!”
Guy, who always stood at the head of the table, looked at Hannah harshly. “Hannah, your words, as always, are harsh and not necessary.” He then looked at Lina, who stood on the other end of the table. “But she is correct in her concerns. You should have brought this plan before us.”
“You would have shot it down,” Lina spoke the truth.
“For good reason,” Bernhard argued. “We’ve wanted to avoid the Stasi, not enter their den.”
“Do you realize how careful you’ll have to be?” Major inquired, his voice the calmest of them all. “Every word and action you say or do will be scrutinized.”
“Even more because of your background,” Bernhard added.
“Which makes it all the more concerning of why Jung hired you,” Guy gripped the edges of the table. “I fear your Stasi friend has his own agenda.”
Lina shook her head at the idea. “Jung has no evidence that I’m part of the Brotherhood. He let me go because it was clear I had no knowledge of it.”
“This is your biggest problem,” Hannah tossed a hand at Lina. “You continuingly disregard the fact that the Stasi are smarter than they lead you to believe.”
Lina felt her angry growing at her comrades’ disbelief that she could pull this off. “Then what are we supposed to do? We have no idea where Logan is and therefore we can’t continue the work Winston was killed over. Meanwhile more people are getting locked up, silenced, and those who have to get of the East are stuck here. And the West shows no sign of landing a hand.” Lina threw an upset hand into the air before looking at the group with pleading eyes. “I have been handed a chance to change that. Think of the information I’ll have access to! Not only can I find out where Logan is and what the Stasi knows about us, but I’ll know of people soon to be arrested, the identity of other informants, and if the Stasi is going to strike, giving us all ample time to make arrangements to get out or go into hiding. There is no other way for us to get that knowledge.”
“But at the risk of you getting killed,” Daniel finally spoke up.
Only Daniel had known of Lina’s plan and he had been as angry with her as the others, though he was wise enough to know that once Lina made her mind up there was little chance of it changing.
Lina looked at her brother, a lump forming in her throat. Her eyes switched to the others, who were staring at her, waiting for a reply. Daniel had mentioned the possibility they all feared, that not only would the Stasi imprison and torture them but that they could be executed, just like Winston. It was terrifying idea and one that continually made Lina second guess her decision. But every time she thought of it, her mind went back to Winston. She had failed him once. She would not fail in helping to carry out his vision for the future, a future where they could speak their minds and live free of their oppressive regime. The only way that could happen was for the Brotherhood, including Lina, to take risks.
Settling her eyes on Guy, who waited patiently for an answer, Lina told him, “I promised to make any sacrifice necessary for the Brotherhood. I’m taking that sacrifice now. I’m going to infiltrate the Stasi and I am going to help people who need us, and to show the world who the Stasi and the GDR government truly are.”
Link: https://mybook.to/InfiltrationHeil
Hello fellow readers! It’s finally May, which means this month my new book, Infiltration, is being released. To count down the release date I’m doing
#TeaserTuesday in the weeks leading up. Enjoy!
Infiltration ©Rachel R. Heil 2023
“Don’t show them your nervous,” Frau Meyer hissed into her student’s ear. “They know everyone is afraid of them. Let them double-guess themselves.”
Frau Meyer wasn’t talking about the general audience, of course. She was speaking about a few people in particular, the ones who had the central seats of the stadium and the ones Lina had been cautiously looking over at ever since the event began.
They were seated in an area painted a golden yellow with seats that were somehow still more comfortable than the other ones, even though they were probably the same. That’s what power did to people. Even in uncomfortable situations, somehow they were still relaxed and at ease.
As Frau Meyer gave Lina a gentle push to step onto the ice and the crowd erupted into applause, Lina couldn’t remove her eyes from the group of men—they were always just men, no women.
While doing her customary laps around the rink to warm herself up, Lina fixed her gaze on them, who were watching with a slightly perked interest.
She had seen them all once before. They had been at last’s year event, where Lina took home silver. She didn’t know their names except for the one who sat in the middle—everyone knew his name due to his proximity to the men at the top.
Martin Bruckmann was a senior Staatssicherheit—Stasi—officer. An overweight man with thinning to no hair, eyes devoid of emotion, and an oddly shaped head—“Like a potato,” her brother had sneakily joked after seeing him for the first time—he had a perpetual five o’clock shadow, which did well to mask the few moles he had on the lower part of his jaw. Though Lina had only spent a few minutes speaking to him last year it had been enough to make Lina’s skin crawl whenever she saw him or heard his name muttered, and she was sure she wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
Don’t focus on that right now, Lina, she told herself as she moved to the middle of the rink and placed her right foot in front of her left, dropping her head and positioning her arms next to her side. This is your moment.
In the split second before the music began, Lina heard someone get up from their seat. Her eyes momentarily darted over, and she saw one of Bruckmann’s companions getting up and scurrying out of the stadium towards the lavatory.
No matter. One less Mielke crony eyeing her up like a piece of meat. Besides, no one could take this moment away from her.
She had been waiting her entire life for this.
Link: https://mybook.to/InfiltrationHeil
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In 2013 Sarah Blake is struggling. After releasing a well acclaimed and popular book, Sarah has yet to publish anything since. She yearns to write a unique story and thinks she might have found it after going through some of her family’s heirlooms and discovering artifacts relating to her great-grandfather, killed when the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1915. As Sarah travels to England and works closely with a fellow Lusitania descendent, the stories of Caroline and Tessa are also told. In 1915, Southern belle Caroline is married to Gilbert, a highly successful and rich businessman who seems more interested in his work than his relationship with Caroline. Bored and alone, Caroline soon finds herself in the company of an old love aboard the Lusitania, forcing her to make painful decisions about the men in her life. Tessa does not have the same issues. A thief working with her sister to make ends meets, Tessa travels aboard the Lusitania to pull off a heist. But as Tessa works to fulfill her end of the bargain she begins to sense that something might be amiss.
I’ve been looking forward to picking this book up for a while. As an ocean liner buff I am always looking out for books set on famous passenger ships that aren’t always the Titanic (though those suggestions are always welcomed). The Glass Ocean was one of the first books I saw that takes place on the Lusitania and I decided to finally pick it up.
Despite this story being written by three different authors, I found the book to be written well and seemingly written by just one person. The authors did an excellent job keeping the same voice and it wasn’t at all obvious where one author stopped writing and the other started. I also thought Caroline’s storyline was fairly well developed and her final decision did surprise me.
Yet there were also quite a few things I didn’t like about the book. My first, and major complaint, is that even though it takes place on the Lusitania, it could have taken place on any other vessel during World War One as there was very little description of the ship and almost no interaction with any of the real passengers and crew. Having studied the ship before, I learned of several interesting figures that were on the ship and I wish this book would have included more of that. Granted, this isn’t everyone’s preference but it is something I wish the authors would have expanded on. The sinking of the vessel itself was also very brief, about two chapters. Granted, the Lusitania sank in eighteen minutes, but as it was the climax of the story, I felt it should have been longer. Again, if you aren’t going to go into detail on what the ship is famous for, then why not just have it any other passenger ship?
Additionally, I didn’t like the three competing storylines and I found Sarah and Tessa’s stories to be pretty uninteresting. While Tessa’s story did add to the overall plot, Sarah’s felt like it was crammed in there and as a character in general I greatly disliked Sarah. She came off as very entitled, bitter, and annoying, which is unfortunate since I think she really could have added to the story.
While this book is a very good effort on the authors’ part to share the story of the Lusitania. Unfortunately, The Glass Ocean does fall short in several regards.
3 out of 5 stars
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In this nonfiction book, author Siân Evans examines the lives and careers of women who faced the unknown and took jobs aboard passenger liners from the early 1900s until the end of the 1940s. In these four decades, women worked, fought, and preserved to have successful careers at sea and often pave the way for women in the coming decades. Yet, we hear surprisingly very little about these women in today’s literature and Ms. Evans attempts to fill this gap by sharing the stories of a variety of women, all in the context of the changing landscape of the twentieth century.
I have had a love and interest for the “golden age” of passenger liners from an early age, in part due to my fascination with the Titanic. However, as I have grown older and learned more about the other liners that traveled to and from Europe during this time, my interest has continued to grow. Yet, in my research I find very little information concerning the women who worked alongside their male counterparts. They are mentioned in generalizing terms and it is often hard to come by any real information about them. So when I discovered Ms. Evans’ book (courtesy of a YouTube video) I decided to impulsively pick this up.
For the most part I’m glad I did that. The book is very well-researched and looks at several different women during the time period. It is also a fairly easy read, with no too much jargon that can confuse the reader. I can honestly see myself returning to this book as a resource for future research and historical blog posts.
There are some aspects of the book I was not particularly fond of, mainly the broad generalization Ms. Evans gives to the male crew members and their behavior towards their female co-workers, and the focus on female passengers. For the first point, I found that Ms. Evans’ description of male crew members, particularly ship officers, to be a bit vague and perhaps not always 100% true. There is no doubt that these women faced sexism and harassment from their male counterparts, but I’ve also done a fair amount research to find that this wasn’t always the case and some of these individuals could be quite progressive in their way of thinking about females and their roles in society. Again, perhaps this was a rare occurrence but I thought the broad generalization could have been taken back a little bit. The second issue, concerning the focus on female passengers, I found a bit boring and repetitive. I was much more interested in learning about the female crew members than the women traveling aboard the passenger ships.
Overall this is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to not only learn more about passenger liners during this time period but also of the crew members who spent their lives sailing the seas, looking for adventure.
4 out of 5 stars
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Jane thinks she hits the lottery when she meets Eddie Rochester, a young, handsome, rich widower living in the neighbor where Jane walks dogs. While it’s not hard to see Jane’s attraction for Eddie, Jane has more reasons than most to want to escape her current existence. Fleeing her past in Arizona, Jane moved to Alabama for a fresh start which included changing her name so no one could discover her past. She dreams of a better life, but lacks the skills to get her there. It seems she’s doomed to a life of dog walking and sharing an apartment with her sleazeball of a roommate, John.
That is until she meets Eddie and the life Jane so desperately wanted is within reach. Everything about Eddie and his life is perfect, and Jane seems certain her days of struggling are over. But, there’s just one tiny problem; Eddie’s first wife.
Bea Rochester was the envy of everyone. She was a millionaire thanks to her business, was gorgeous, and had Eddie before Jane. But, none of that could save her when she went out on her boat along with her best friend and neighbor, Blanche. Seemingly one thing led to another and now both women have been missing for months. Many, like Jane, presume them both dead but something isn’t right and the more Jane chips away at Eddie’s perfect façade, the more the ugly truth begins to reveal itself.
The Wife Upstairs is a Jane Eyre retelling, and it was that reason why I picked it up. I love Jane Eyre and was interested in how Ms. Hawkins would work with the story to give it a new, fresh feeling. For the most part she did that very well. The Jane Eyre story frame was there but Ms. Hawkins did a lot with it to make it different and not a nearly identical style, which I really appreciated. The last 40% of the book goes quickly as more of the truth is revealed and Ms. Hawkins through in a little twist at the end that I didn’t expect.
Yet while this book is classified as a thriller/mystery I’ll be honest and say there isn’t much mystery to this story. Fairly early on you learn a good chunk of what actually happened, based on how Ms. Hawkins writes the story. I didn’t necessarily hate that, but I also wasn’t a fan of it. It more became a question of whether or not Jane would discover the truth, but even that seemed little bit obvious. That’s why I did appreciate the little twist Ms. Hawkins tossed in towards the end. The ending is a little ambiguous which may frustrate a few readers but I didn’t bother me.
What did frustrate me, and the reason why I gave this book a four stars, is because the author never really reveals what Jane is running from in Arizona. We get clues throughout and a little bit of explanation, but it didn’t feel like enough to explain why Jane changed her identity and fled her life in Arizona. It was by no means a pleasant experience in Arizona, but I thought there was going to be a bigger punch and that it somehow would connect with Eddie, Bea, and Blanche. But it didn’t and I was left a little unsatisfied with Jane’s story.
Overall this is a good, fairly well-written story that takes the Jane Eyre story and gives it no life. But, if given the choice between the two books, I think I’ll go with Jane Eyre every time.
4 out 5 stars
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Jessica Miller is everything she aspired to be when she arrived was a freshman at the prestigious Duquette University; beautiful, successful, confident, enviable. It is the latter characteristic that is driving Jessica’s excitement in attending her university’s ten year anniversary weekend. Not even the unsolved murder of her friend and fellow East House Seven member Heather, committed ten years ago when Heather was stabbed seventeen times with a pair of scissors, can damper Jessica’s enthusiasm. This is going to be her time, her opportunity to show everyone at school who they were missing.
But other people have different ideas.
As Jessica is reunited with her former East House Seven friends, dark secrets and untold truths bubble to the surface and within twenty-four hours the murderer will be revealed along with a damning truth that none of them could have seen coming.
I have become fascinated with dark academia books and this one certainly fits the bill; a gothic university, a group of friends hiding who they truly are from each other, a murder, and tons of atmospheric tension. As a result, I scored this book very highly and found the greatest strength of the book to be its characters.
Before I begin to discuss the various personalities that make up the East House Seven I will state that these characters are not for everyone. With the exception of maybe two or three characters, the people inhabiting this story are not exactly ones I would personally keep, including Jessica herself. Jessica is a very complicated character, set on reinventing herself into the person she so desperately wants to be. She’ll push, scheme, and take out anyone who gets in the way, even if she knows it’s wrong (and that’s an important thing to remember throughout the book). At the same time, I also found myself sympathizing with Jessica. Her home life is a disaster and she, above all else, wants to belong. This is something I feel a lot of people can relate to, the desire to be seen and listened to. That being said, not all of us do what Jessica does to make sure she is seen.
And the “gems” she chooses to be friends with aren’t much better. Without revealing anything, I will say that the East House Seven are the type of students that you see across the hallway in the school, desperately wish to be friends with them, and then when the dirt comes out, you have a breath of sigh and think “Thank God I’m not friends with those people!” At times, it was really hard to find anything likeable about them.
All of this further complicates the main question at hand. Who killed Heather? Everyone will be blamed at least once, but when the true culprit (or culprits maybe?) are revealed, the reader will be left wondering how had this missed it?
5 out of 5 stars
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Dora Davidsohn’s life has changed rapidly, and not for the better. Having left the traditional home of her childhood, Dora has forged a new beginning in Berlin, enjoying the liberties she can take advantage and making new, unashamed friends. However, when Hitler comes to power and Dora is horribly verbally assaulted at her job, the writing on the wall is obvious to Dora and she flees Germany. Years later, after escaping an internment camp, Dora joins the French Resistance and takes on her biggest challenge yet; posing as an Aryan secretary and working for the Gestapo. It’s a dangerous assignment but one, if Dora plays her cards right, could lead to hundreds of others living another day.
If you have followed my reviews and reading choices over the last few years, you will know very well that I am a huge Ellie Midwood fan. Her books are always exceptionally well-researched, superbly written, and very engaging. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to read some of her newest works due to my own hectic reading schedule. However, after reading the summary of this one and learning it is based off a true story, I knew I had to pick it up and read it as soon as I could. A woman posing a secretary and working for the Gestapo in occupied France? How can one not pick that up!
Dora, and many of the supporting characters, are complex characters. Prior to the war, we learn that Dora joins the Communist Party and while you can fully understand Dora’s reasons for doing so, being there are the only other “force” actively fighting Hitler and fascism, Dora does seem naïve in believing that Communism is free of any sins. We see her temporarily questioning her political ideology after she hears about the famine Stalin created for the Ukrainians, but this doesn’t really go anywhere. This could be frustrating to some readers, but my only comment would be is that war doesn’t always give us black and white answers and sometimes, like Dora mentions in the book, we have to choose the lesser of two evils. In any case, I find these dilemmas to be fascinating to read about as it adds another dimension to the characters. They come off as more human.
As always, I would recommend Ms. Midwood’s newest book. It was a quick read and a story I will probably re-read in the future.
5 out of 5 stars
