A Question of Betrayal

A Question of Betrayal : An Elena Standish Novel Book 2 by Anne Perry. New York: Ballantine Books, 2020. 304 pages ****

Photographer Elena Standish is given her first assignment for  M16.  Britain’s secret intelligence service has lost contact with its informant in northern Italy.  Elena Standish is the only person who can recognize him because he is her former lover. Aiden Strother betrayed her six years before, causing embarrassment for Elena and her family and she vows not to fall for his charm again.  Elena heads to Trieste to track down Aiden and find out what happened to his handler, who has mysteriously cut off contact with Britain.

This is the 2nd book in the Elena Standish series, I was already a fan of the William Monk and Thomas Pitt series and will add this series to the list. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. In true Perry fashion, the reader is left guessing until the very end. Elena is such a likeable character, I will go back and read book 1 and any future books.

 I received an ecopy for a review.

From Amazon ...

Anne Perry is the New York Times bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels. She is also the author of a series featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt’s son, Daniel, including Triple Jeopardy and One Fatal Flaw; the new Elena Standish series, beginning with Death in Focus; five World War I novels; eighteen holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Resolution; and a historical novel, The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Ottoman Empire. Anne Perry lives in Los Angeles.

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To find out more about Anne, http://www.anneperry.co.uk/about

All Systems Red

All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries #1 by Martha Wells. New York: A Tom Doherty Associates book, 2017. 152 pages. ***

I received this book as part of a Facebook Bookclub, The Beekeepers - The Book Hive Book Club. This is my first book in Round 2, the second year.  I read it, journal about it and send it on to the next person on the list during the last week of the month. I thoroughly enjoyed the books last year and receiving someone else's choices each month encourages me to read a book outside of my usual choices (mystery, thrillers).

I read the paperback (152 page novella) version of the story. Short, sweet, and setting the stage. I enjoyed it and am glad it was chosen. This is the first book in a 4 part novella series and is a great marketing ploy if you don't mind spending that much on a @600 page book. My only personal issue  is that the owner of the book I read underlined, wrote in it and boxed words. Very distracting for me, if the book hadn't cost 15.99, I would have bought a clean copy to read. The story itself was very entertaining and a quick summer read. I am always impressed by the level of detail that fantasy authors portray in books about alternative universes. Wells does an excellent job of drawing the reader in from the very beginning, "I could have become a mass murderer," the opening statement from the Murderbot. With underlining humor, the Murderbot just wants to catch up on his shows and keeping humans safe doesn't require much effort. (reminds me of binge watching Netflix during the pandemic).

Martha Wells has written many fantasy novels, including The Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads), the Ile-Rien series (including The Death of the Necromancer) as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, media tie-ins (for Star Wars and Stargate: Atlantis), and non-fiction. Her most recent fantasy novel is The Harbors of the Sun in 2017, the final novel in The Books of the Raksura series. She has a new series, The Murderbot Diaries, published by Tor.com. She was also the lead writer for the story team of Magic: the Gathering's Dominaria expansion in 2018. She has won a Nebula Award, two Hugo Awards, an ALA/YALSA Alex Award, two Locus Awards, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the BSFA Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been published in sixteen languages. For more information, https://www.marthawells.com/about.htm

#beekeepers #bookhivebookclub #allsystemsred #murderbotdiaries #murderbot @flamazing_books

Lies, Lies, Lies

   

Lies, Lies, Lies by Adele Parks. Canada: Mira, 2020. **** 384 pages.

Daisy and Simon seem to have an idyllic life, both have good jobs and after years of trying to have a child, they now have Millie. Millie is a talented six year old who loves to dance and is gifted in ballet. So what if Simon likes to drink too much? They have a tight group of friends from their university days who tolerate Simon's unpredictable behavior. When Simon pushes to have another baby and visits a fertility specialist, he becomes moody and accusatory. Simon loses his job and his drinking is out of control ending in a horrible car accident which changes all three of their lives forever. 

Told in the alternating voices of Simon and Daisy, their story of lies, secrets, and betrayal is unfolded. Looking from the outside in, it is easy to see how their lives implode and how the lies grow to include everyone close to them. Discerning who the good and bad guys in this story are is challenging until the very end. This domestic thriller has several triggers and a dark side that is unsettling. It seemed to lag at some point and then rush to a finish. If you are a B. A Paris fan, you will enjoy Adele Parks too. I enjoyed it and read it in one day and look forward to future books by Parks.

I received an ecopy for a review.

Adele Parks was born in Teesside, North-East England. Her first novel, Playing Away, was published in 2000 and since then she's had seventeen international bestsellers, translated into twenty-six languages. She's been an Ambassador for The Reading Agency and a judge for the Costa. She's lived in Italy, Botswana and London, and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey, with her husband, teenage son and cat. For more information on the author, https://www.adeleparks.com/

#domesticthriller #bookstagram @flamazing_books

2020 Monthly Color Challenge - July

July - American Robin- Rust

The color this month is Rust and the pattern may be found at Patterns by Jen.
I have these two pieces of fabric and now I'm not sure which one is rust. I think there is another month that is Cinnamon, so I am somewhat confused. I chose the one on the right, but now when I look at the Robin, it probably should have been the fabric on the left.
It's very important to square up each section according to the directions.

 

I also think I may have reversed the background and the main fabric. Pip and Charley are weighing in.

Do you ever look at the selvedge on your fabric? This line of fabric is Monkey Wrench by Tula Pink so it has bananas on the selvedge. There are quilters who make crafts out of these unusual strips of fabric.

Check out the Bloggers for this month:

Patterns by Jen

Kathleen McMusing 

Pieceful Thoughts

Create With Claudia

Steph Jacobson Designs 

Textile Time Travels

Quality Creations by Fawn

Quilt'n Party

Don't forget to link your block at the end of the month to win fabulous prizes! Details at Jen's Blog. Join us on Facebook and share your block Quilt and Learn with Patterns by Jen

Follow me on IG at kathy.nester

#2020monthlycolorchallenge #julyblock

Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks

June 2020

I am a member of the Sew Modern Bee FB Group. Before the Pandemic we met in person at Junto Space in Broomall, PA, now we are Zooming and connecting through Facebook.

A few of the members wanted to have a project that we could each make individually, but have it be a universal theme, project, etc. One of the members has made one of these quilts and as soon as we saw it, we knew it is the one we wanted to do. I purchased the book through Amazon before I even left the Zoom meeting. I am a huge Tula Pink fan, so it is no contest as to which fabrics I will use. Others are using other designers or groupings. We have committed to making 30 blocks from the book before the September meeting. It's a public Group, so come join us!

The only essential tool in addition to the usual ones, is a 6.5 inch square ruler. Using a scant quarter inch, moving my needle one space is giving me an exact 6.5 inch block.

These are two of my favorite blocks!

I decided to photograph each block with its number, so I won't forget which one it is and I am pinning it to the back of my block. I have a few pieces from several Tula Pink fabric lines, so I hope in the end, they will all play together nicely!

A quilting friend offered to send me Tula scraps when I mentioned I am using her fabrics in this project. Isn't this the best? Quilters are super generous people and I am honored to include these in my quilt. 

20 done, 80 to go!

A quilt shop opened for in store sales and I was able to purchase 1/4 yard cuts of some more Tula Pink Fabric!

 30 completed, 70 more to go! 

48 blocks completed! 

#tulapinkscitysampler #100modernquiltblocks

The Ultimate Betrayal

The Ultimate Betrayal (Maximum Security Book #3) by Kat Martin.  Canada: HQN, 2020. 352 pages. ****

When his best friend's sister asks for his help in proving her father innocent of being a traitor what's a guy to do? Brandon Garrett is between jobs as a body guard when Jessie Kegan walks into his Maximum Security Office and explains why her father is innocent and how she wants to prove it. When gunshots explode through the windows of the office and a black SUV with tinted windows speeds away, Brandon is convinced that Jessie needs protection. Colonel Kegan can't defend himself against the charges because he has been found dead of a heart attack, so it's up to Jessie and Brandon. Brandon is instantly attracted to Jessie and tries to keep their relationship on a professional level even if she has a sweet little body to match her fiery long hair. The relationship between Brandon and Jessie is a steamy one, complicated by Brandon's loyalty to her dead brother and his best friend.

This is book #3 in the series, I have not read the first two. It can easily be read as a stand-alone. Martin weaves a story of espionage, romance, mystery, and murder. This is a classic story of who can you trust and who is telling the truth? It becomes obvious pretty quickly that there is more going on than just the theft and time is running out. A quick fun read!

I received an ecopy for a review.

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.

For more information on Kat Martin, https://www.katmartin.com/

#theultimatebetrayal #espionage #murder