THE FOREST CITY KILLER by Vanessa Brown a tale of murder and mayhem that gripped the city of London, Ontario in the late 1960s – A MUST READ for all true-crime buffs

Title: THE FOREST CITY KILLER
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Subtitle: A SERIAL MURDERER, A COLD-CASE SLEUTH, AND A SEARCH FOR JUSTICE
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Author: VANESSA BROWN
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Genre: NON-FICTION, TRUE CRIME, CANADIAN NON-FICTION

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Length: 360 PAGES

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Publisher: ECW PRESS
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Received From: NETGALLEY
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Release Date: OCTOBER 4, 2019

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ISBN: 9781770415034

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Rating: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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DESCRIPTION:

Dig deep into the unsolved murder of Jackie English and join the hunt for a serial killer

Fifty years ago, a serial killer prowled the quiet city of London, Ontario, marking it as his hunting grounds. As young women and boys were abducted, raped, and murdered, residents of the area held their loved ones closer and closer, terrified of the monster — or monsters — stalking the streets. Homicide detective Dennis Alsop began hunting the killer in the 1960s, and he didn’t stop searching until his death 40 years later. For decades, detectives, actual and armchair, and the victims’ families and friends continued to ask questions: Who was the Forest City Killer? Was there more than one person, or did a depraved individual commit all of these crimes on his own?

Combing through the files Detective Alsop left behind, researcher Vanessa Brown reopens the cases, revealing previously unpublished witness statements, details of evidence, and astonishing revelations. And through her investigation, Vanessa posits the unthinkable: is it possible that the Forest City Killer is still alive and, like the notorious Golden State Killer, a simple DNA test could bring him to justice?
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MY REVIEW:

Researcher Vanessa Brown grew up in London, Ontario, Canada and resides there to this day. It is in her beloved city where she owns and operates a used book store and as an avid local historian, she has authored and/or edited several local history books. London, Ontario is also known as “The Forest City” hence the title of this book.

I have a keen interest in True Crime, biographies and historical non-fiction. It is because of this that I was drawn to THE FOREST CITY KILLER.

Also, since I live in Ontario, Canada and have visited all the locations mentioned in this story, and in fact, I attended the same high school (Sir Frederick Banting High School in Alliston Ontario) as convicted murderer, David Bodemer, I knew I just had to find out the details of the murders which took place only a few years before I was born.

Author VANESSA BROWN has taken the story of murder most foul and crafted a true tale of intrigue with so many twists and turns that it is almost unbelievable. It is said that “Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction,” and in the case of the FOREST CITY KILLER this statement proves to be true.

Untangling the web of murders as well as entertaining multiple theories, the writing of this book must have been a monumental task and yet Vanessa Brown proves herself as adept in not only untangling the many strands of the web, but also in providing readers with a chohesive and coherent timeline and a theory that comes across as convincing. In fact, maybe Vanessa Brown has missed her calling – she would make a phenomenal cold-case investigator.

My only negative feedback about THE FOREST CITY KILLER is the overabundance of footnotes. In my opinion, if the note is worthy of being included in the book, then it can easily be added to the main narrative. I found the footnotes interesting and was glad the information they contained was included, however I found them overly distracting. Hopefully, since the copy I received was an ARC (Advance Review Copy) that these footnotes will be worked into the body of the book.

Included in the book are many photographs including pictures of the eleven victims and photos taken at the time the bodies were found. This allows readers to feel an extra connection to the cases.

I rate THE FOREST CITY KILLER as 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.**
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A freelance writer, editor and local historian, Vanessa Brown is the author of The Grand Old Lady: A History of Hotel London and London: 150 Cultural Moments which was published by Biblioasis in 2017.

Vanessa Brown is an antiquarian bookseller who consults on early and rare editions and ephemera for the L. M. Montgomery Research Group. She is the author of The Grand Old Lady: A History of Hotel London.

Vanessa is also a murderino, and wants to remind you to stay sexy and don’t get murdered! (Don’t know what this means? Check out the amazing True Crime podcast MY FAVORITE MURDER)

Her latest book, The Forest City Killer, will be published with ECW in 2019.

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TO PURCHASE A SIGNED COPY OF THE FOREST CITY KILLER Click HERE

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FACE OF THE DEVIL by WILLIAM WELLS was released last week and is available NOW – 4 STARS

Title: FACE OF THE DEVIL

Author: WILLIAM WELLS

Genre: FICTION, MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS

Length: 217 PAGES

Publisher: RIVERDALE BOOKS

Received From: NETGALLEY

Release Date: AUGUST 1, 2019

ISBN: 9781626015159

Price: $6.99 USD (EBOOK)

Rating: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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DESCRIPTION:

“Wells has a brisk, breezy style that… blurs the line between fiction and (fictive) reality. Prime entertainment.” —Booklist

In this fast-paced psychological thriller, someone is brutally murdering female college students on Midwestern campuses.

When a police sketch of the killer shows a remarkable resemblance to Ethan Hamilton, a prominent professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin who specializes in psychopathic personality disorders, Ethan is at first a suspect.

Initially cleared, he agrees to help the FBI hunt down the killer. The killings continue and Ethan begins having troubling dreams about the crimes, and other signs of severe stress, he quits his work with the FBI but gets drawn back in. A shocking development puts Ethan and his family in jeopardy.

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MY REVIEW:

“I am Ethan Hamilton: 48 years old; B.S.; M.S.; Ph.D.; professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin. My academic speciality is abnormal psychology, with a sub-specialty in the sociopathic and psychopathic personality. My books and papers on the subject have gained national and international attention for me and for my university.”

Ethan Hamilton knows more about psychopaths than almost anyone in law enforcement, including those who work in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.

So, when someone starts killing young female college students and when a sketch of the murderer looks much like him, it is inevitable that he get involved in the case. He is cleared quickly as a suspect and instead offers his professional expertise to help catch the real killer.

Author William Wells is also an expert, an expert of twists and turns. He digs deep into the psyche of both the killer and the purported expert on psychopathic personalities. What he discovers is that the line between the hunter and the hunted is sometimes very thin.

If you enjoy thrillers with a horror bent, you will want to read this book. I particularly enjoyed the discussions surrounding the age-old question of what most influences a person’s development – nature or nurture.

There are several other themes that are interspersed throughout this book, but I do not want to give out any spoilers in this book review, so I will refrain from discussing them here. However, once you read this book, I am willing to discuss it anytime on my blog, or on my Instagram account. Be sure to follow both by going to my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com and follow @Amiesbookreviews on Instagram.

There were a few typos in the file that was sent to me, but I believe these will be fixed in the final version of this book. It is due to these typos that I have rated this book as 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.*

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QUOTES:

“You would never go broke catering to the public’s appetite for the macabre. It was cathartic to confront pure evil and survive.”

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“Horror was titillating – as long as it was someone else’s horror.”

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“Why was Wisconsin known as the serial-murder capital of the U.S.? I’ve studied the subject and found that no one really knows why our state produces psychopaths in the way that Silicon Valley incubates high-tech companies. Maybe it’s something in the gene pool, or the water.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in Detroit, William Wells is a graduate of Hamilton College with a B.A. in English literature.

He served aboard a Navy destroyer and as a Navy journalist, and was a radio disc jockey, newspaper staff writer, author of an internationally syndicated comic strip, speechwriter for the Governor of Michigan, marketing agency executive, and custom publishing company owner.

His previously published novels include Hope’s Road, Ride Away Home, Detective Fiction and The Dollar-A-Year Detective.

To learn more about this author, visit the following links:

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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:

Riverdale Avenue Books is an award winning, innovative hybrid publisher at the leading edge of the changes in the publishing industry. We publish e-books, print, and audio books under 12 imprints: Desire, an erotica/erotic romance imprint; Riverdale/Magnus the award-winning imprint of LGBT titles; Pop featuring pop culture titles; Afraid, a horror line; SFF, a science fiction fantasy line; Truth, an erotic memoir line; Dagger, a mystery thriller imprint; Sports and Gaming featuring sports and gaming titles; Verve featuring lifestyle titles; Hera featuring both the true and fictional lives and loves of women aged 35 and up; and 120 Days, an LGBT pulp fiction line.

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DIAGNOSIS by LISA SANDERS is a 5 Star Read and will soon be a series on Netflix

Title: DIAGNOSIS

Subtitle: SOLVING THE MOST BAFFLING MEDICAL MYSTERIES

Author: LISA SANDERS, M.D.

Genre: NON-FICTION, MEMOIRS, MEDICAL, HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Length: 320 PAGES

Publisher: CROWN PUBLISHING

Received From: NETGALLEY

Release Date: AUGUST 13, 2019

ISBN: 9780593136638

Price: $17.00 USD

Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

DESCRIPTION:

As a Yale School of Medicine physician, the New York Times bestselling author of Every Patient Tells a Story, and an inspiration and adviser for the hit Fox TV drama House, M.D., Lisa Sanders has seen it all. And yet she is often confounded by the cases she describes in her column: unexpected collections of symptoms that she and other physicians struggle to diagnose.

A twenty-eight-year-old man, vacationing in the Bahamas for his birthday, tries some barracuda for dinner. Hours later, he collapses on the dance floor with crippling stomach pains. A middle-aged woman returns to her doctor, after visiting two days earlier with a mild rash on the back of her hands. Now the rash has turned purple and has spread across her entire body in whiplike streaks. A young elephant trainer in a traveling circus, once head-butted by a rogue zebra, is suddenly beset with splitting headaches, as if someone were “slamming a door inside his head.”

In each of these cases, the path to diagnosis—and treatment—is winding, sometimes frustratingly unclear. Dr. Sanders shows how making the right diagnosis requires expertise, painstaking procedure, and sometimes a little luck. Intricate, gripping, and full of twists and turns, Diagnosis puts readers in the doctor’s place. It lets them see what doctors see, feel the uncertainty they feel—and experience the thrill when the puzzle is finally solved.

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MY REVIEW:

Author Dr. Lisa Sanders is the doctor whom the television show HOUSE was based on. She is well-known for her diagnostic prowess as well as for her column in the New York Times. Now, Netflix is filming a series based on her case files. I am very much looking forward to watching this new series. I LOVED watching HOUSE and was sad when the television series ended.

DIAGNOSIS is a fascinating and informative read, as well as being chock-full of information that most doctors (and patients) are unaware of. In my opinion, everyone, especially doctors need to own a copy of this book.

I am well aware of the theory known as “Occam’s Razor” which is a principle from philosophy that states that the simplest explanation is usually correct. However, sometimes that theory does not apply. In medicine sometimes a zebra masquerades as a horse and because the disease is so rare, it is unknown to the doctor and/or because of it’s rarity, it is dismissed as a possibility.

If you have any interest in medical mysteries this book should be at the top of your ‘TBR (TO BE READ)’ List. Once I started reading, I was unable to put it down.

Not only does the author do an exceptional job of describing the symptoms each patient is experiencing, she also gives a brief description of the person’s home and work life which provides a perfect balance between the technical and the personal aspects of each case.

Dr. Lisa Sanders also provides the reader with an update as to how each patient is faring at the present time. This is something that I find many medical books leave out. It is as if many doctors see only the medical mystery and view the patient as callously as they would view a lab rat; ignoring them once the mystery is solved and leaving the follow-up to others. Lisa Sanders does NOT do this. In fact, several of the cases were diagnosed years earlier and yet she has taken the time to call each patient and ask after their current help.

This book is worthy of more than just 5 Stars, however, since five stars is the highest rating I can bestow upon a book, 5 STARS will have to suffice. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The world is lucky to have diagnosticians such as Dr. Lisa Sanders and she has saved multiple lives and livelihoods. She is an inspiration to women everywhere.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.*

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Lisa Sanders is a clinician educator in the Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program. In addition to her work as a physician and teacher, she writes the popular Diagnosis column for the New York Times Magazine and the Think Like a Doctor column featured in the New York Times blog, The Well. Her column was the inspiration for the Fox program House MD (2004-2012) and she served as a consultant to the show. In 2010 published a book titled Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis. Currently she is collaborating with the New York Times on an 8 hour documentary series on the process of diagnosis. It will air on Netflix in the summer of 2019.

Sanders’ path to medicine was anything but traditional. As an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary, she majored in English, wrote for The Flat Hat, the college paper, and served pints of ale at Chownings Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg. After graduation she took a job with ABC at Good Morning America. Less than 10 years later, while working for CBS News, she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story for coverage of Hurricane Hugo as it slammed into her hometown of Charleston, S.C. But by then, Sanders said, she was ready to move on professionally and decided that of all the subjects she covered as a journalist, medicine intrigued her most. After two years at Columbia University’s Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program, Sanders was accepted to the Yale School of Medicine “as part of the 10 percent of the class they reserve for weirdos,” she said. In addition to her time in the hospital, Sanders is currently researching clinical decision making and the way diagnostic decisions and errors are made. She has published two books previously — “The Perfect Fit Diet: Combine What Science Knows About Weight Loss With What You Know About Yourself” in 2004 and “The Perfect Fit Diet: How to Lose Weight, Keep it Off and Still Eat the Foods You Love” in 2005.

To learn more about this author, visit the following links:

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YALE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

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FACEBOOK

TWITTER

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#Diagnosis #NetGalley #Review #Reviewathon #bookreview #medical #medicalmysteries #rarediseases #doctor #Doctors #health #healthandwellness #bookblog #book #2019 #2019release #2019booklovers #2019bookrelease #lisasanders #reallifedrhouse #realhealthmysteries #raredisease #whattolookfor #patient

THE MISSING ONES by Edwin Hill is a 5 Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Thriller where fact and fiction collide

Title: THE MISSING ONES
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Series: HESTER THURSBY MYSTERIES: BOOK TWO

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Author: EDWIN HILL
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Genre: FICTION, MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS

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Length: 304 PAGES

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Publisher: KENSINGTON BOOKS
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Received From: NETGALLEY
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Release Date: AUGUST 27, 2019

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ISBN: 9781496719331

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Price: $26.00 USD (HARDCOVER)

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Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

DESCRIPTION:

Hester Thursby has given up using her research skills to trace people who don’t want to be found. A traumatic case a few months ago unearthed a string of violent crimes, and left Hester riddled with self-doubt and guilt.

Caring for a four-year-old is responsibility enough in a world filled with terrors Hester never could have imagined before.

Finisterre Island, off the coast of Maine, is ruggedly beautiful and remote—the kind of place tourists love to visit, though rarely for long. But not everyone who comes to the island is welcome. A dilapidated Victorian house has become home to a group of squatters and junkies, and strangers have a habit of bringing trouble with them. A young boy disappeared during the summer, and though he was found safely, the incident stirred suspicion among locals. Now another child is missing. Summoned to the island by a cryptic text, Hester discovers a community cleaning up from a devastating storm—and uncovers a murder.

Soon Hester begins to connect the crime and the missing children. And as she untangles the secrets at the center of the small community, she finds grudges and loyalties that run deep, poised to converge with a force that will once again shake her convictions about the very nature of right and wrong . . .

MY REVIEW:

Although this is the second book in the Hester Thursby Series and I haven’t read the first book, it did not hinder my enjoyment of this book in the slightest. In fact, THE MISSING ONES works well as a standalone novel.

Hester Thursby is not your typical heroine. She is neurotic, she is hugely overprotective of her four year old niece, Kate, who has been left in her care. In fact, even though she has a valid reason for being overprotective, it is still over-the-top. In summary, she is a realistic character. She isn’t perfect, not by a long shot, and that is why I like her.

This story is a timely one in that it addresses the Opiod Crisis that has infiltrated every aspect of life in North America. It showcases the fact that addiction crosses all socioeconomic boundaries and can (and does) happen to even the most law-abiding families.

There are multiple twists to this story and as soon as you think you know who the perpetrator is, you discover a new fact that makes you doubt your theory.

I rate THE MISSING ONES as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.**

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

(c) Thomas Bollinger

Edwin Hill is the author of the critically-acclaimed Hester Thursby mystery series.

His first novel, LITTLE COMFORT, was nominated for an Agatha Award for best debut.

The second in the series, THE MISSING ONES, will be available in September. He lives in Roslindale, Massachusetts with his partner Michael and his favorite reviewer, their lab Edith Ann, who likes his first drafts enough to eat them.

To hear an Interview with Edwin Hill on the WRITER’S BONE PODCAST click HERE.

To learn more about this author, visit the following links:

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#Reviewathon

THE DOLL FACTORY by Elizabeth MacNeal is a historical and psychological thriller that is worthy of 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Available to purchase on August 13th

Title: THE DOLL FACTORY

Author: ELIZABETH MACNEAL

Genre: FICTION, HISTORICAL FICTION, THRILLER

Length: 336 PAGES

Publisher: SIMON AND SCHUSTER

Received From: NETGALLEY

Release Date: AUGUST 13, 2019

ISBN: 9781982111939

Price: $24.99 CDN

Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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DESCRIPTION:

The Doll Factory is a sweeping tale of curiosity, love, and possession set among all the sordidness and soaring ambition of 1850s London.

The greatest spectacle London has ever seen is being erected in Hyde Park and, among the crowd watching, two people meet. For Iris, an aspiring artist of unique beauty, it is the encounter of a moment—forgotten seconds later—but for Silas, a curiosity collector enchanted by the strange and beautiful, the meeting marks a new beginning.

When Iris is asked to model for Pre-Raphaelite artist Louis Frost, she agrees on the condition that he will also teach her to paint, and suddenly her world expands beyond anything she ever dreamed of. But she has no idea that evil stalks her.

Silas, it seems, has thought of only one thing since that chance meeting, and his obsession is darkening by the day…
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ETAILS REGARDING RELEASE:

The Doll Factory is out now in the UK, will be published in the US on 13th August, and will be translated into 28 languages.

It won the Caledonia Novel Award 2018 and film and TV rights have sold to Buccaneer Media. It is a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller, a Radio 2 Book Club pick, and Radio 4 Book at Bedtime.

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MY REVIEW:

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THE DOLL FACTORY by ELIZABETH MACNEAL is a historical fiction / psychological thriller and I was unable to put it down.

The author has obviously done an incredible amount of historical research as her descriptions of time, place and even in the minutiae of what daily life was like, she comes across as convincing and authentic.

The details of art at the time the story takes place is extensive and utterly fascinating.

Iris and Rose are twins, but though their appearance is similar, they are nothing alike. Other characters include a street urchin with only a single tooth who dreams of somehow making enough money to buy a set of new teeth and as a result of reading this book I learned many things about where “false” teeth came from and let me tell you, you will never be able to u-know this information which is both riveting and odious at the same time.

Silas is sometimes the villian of the tale, but at times he comes across as pitiable – a person who has been bullied and badly treated his whole life. This discrimination, beginning with a sense of loathing from his own mother who made it clear to him that he was naught but a hindrance to her and even blamed him for her reduced station in life. Silas was always seen, growing up, as an odd child and his ostracism by other children his age will have readers feeling pity for the poor waif he once was. However, there is another side to Silas; one that he keeps tightly locked inside. It is that dark side that Iris never wants to see.

Author ELIZABETH MACNEAL has done a terrific job of describing what can happen when a person is shunned and taunted for a lifetime, And, Iris, the book’s protagonist is someone who would never disrespect or taunt another human being and ultimately it is her decency and her deformity that brings her to the brink of destruction. The only question is which way fate will tip her; toward a future filled with life and love, or will it tip to her ultimate demise?

With a plot that twists and turns so many times, readers will not want to put this book down. It is for that reason, and the other reasons I have listed above that I rate this historical/psychological thriller as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Elizabeth MacNeal has gained a fan in me and I will be eagerly awaiting her next book.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Photography by Mat Smith

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