Cold Conviction by Daryl Wood Gerber - Review

I received this book free from the author. All opinions are my own.

Book details

Paperback : 256 pages

ISBN-10 : 1950461815

ISBN-13 : 978-1950461813

Publisher : Beyond the Page Publishing (October 27, 2020)

Book description

When her parents were murdered fourteen years ago, Aspen Adams coped as best she could as a college freshman and numbly moved on when the case was never solved. Living since then with almost daily reminders of how the tragedy shaped the lives of her and her sister, she’s always known that someday she would launch an investigation of her own. And now, with her sister in crisis, she draws on all her experience as a private investigator to untangle a case that left the police baffled and her family in ruins.

Interviewing the detectives who worked the case, scouring endless pages of their notes, and even tracking down the original suspects, Aspen discovers aspects of the crime and her parents’ lives she never knew about—and ignites a menacing series of events that threaten to engulf everyone near her. Certain she’s on the trail of the killer and unwilling to be deterred, Aspen faces down her own fears about what she’ll find in her search for answers—and justice—before a killer who scarred her life can resurface to wreak havoc on her family once again . . .

Meet the author - Daryl Wood Gerber

Agatha Award–winning and nationally bestselling author Daryl Wood Gerber is the author of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries, the French Bistro Mysteries, the Cheese Shop Mysteries (as Avery Aames), and stand-alone suspense thrillers. Little known facts about Daryl are that she’s jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, has hitchhiked around Ireland by herself, and has appeared on an episode of Murder, She Wrote. She loves to read, cook, and golf, and has a frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky who keeps her in line!

My thoughts

I am so glad that the author decided to take on the solving of Aspen's parent's murder.  Even though it was hard to watch one of my favorite characters struggle through this, she knew it was something she had to do.  There was something about one of the characters in this book that made me think they were the one. While I may have been a little off in thinking who actually pulled the trigger for once my gut instinct was right. I also liked that we got to see Aspen's personal life progress.  This has become one of my favorite series and I look forward to seeing what is going to happen next for Aspen and her family. 

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeht Letts - Review

Book details

Hardcover : 368 pages

ISBN-10 : 1529403448

ISBN-13 : 978-1529403442

Publisher : Quercus (April 4, 2019)

Book description

Behind the most famous movie ever made is a tale of love, magic and one incredible woman

Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns that M-G-M is adapting her late husband's masterpiece, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, for the screen, Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to visit the set.
Nineteen years after Frank's passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book - because she's the only one left who knows its secrets...

But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of 'Over the Rainbow', Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story, from her rebellious youth as a suffragette's daughter to her coming of age as one of the first women in the Ivy League, from her blossoming romance with Frank to the hardscrabble prairie years that inspired his famous work. With the young actress under pressure from the studio as well as her ambitious stage mother, Maud resolves to protect her - the way she tried so hard to protect the real Dorothy.

Meet the author - Elizabeth Letts

If you want to know why I’m a writer, you’d have to thank Mrs. Barclay, the children’s librarian in the Malaga Cove Library in Palos Verdes, California, and my mother. who has read more books than anyone else I know, and who carted me to the library from the time I could barely walk. From the day I sounded out my first board book (Ann Likes Red), read my first poem (Block City, by Robert Louis Stevenson) and was swept up in my first long chapter book, (Little House in the Big Woods) I’ve been a passionate reader and fascinated by the lives and personalities of my favorite authors. But I was a late bloomer. I spent my twenties and thirties working as a nurse-midwife and raising four children. When I turned forty, I decided that I didn’t want to be one of those people who thought she had a book in her but never gave it a try, and I sat down to write my first novel. Now, writing is my full-time pursuit. My passions are horses and all animals, my children, singing in a choir, and long road trips through the backroads of America. I care deeply about issues that affect women and children, and especially those who are fleeing danger. But my favorite hobby is still the one that Mrs. Barclay and my mom got me started on-- reading.

www.elizabethletts.com
Twitter: @elizabethletts
Facebook: www.facebook.com/eightydollarchampion
instagram elizabethletts

My thoughts

When I first heard about this book I knew I would have to read it as I am a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz and always have been. This book was easy to read and enjoyable. I like that the story went between when the movie was being filmed and Maud’s life. I had some questions while reading the book about what was based on fact and what was what the author added, but the author answered those questions in the afterward that was included. So, I highly recommend reading that as well. I found Maud’s like to be tough in some aspects and nice in others. I did not know that her mom had such a part in women’s history. To be honest I knew nothing of Maud until reading this book. I am going to now look into reading one or more of the biographies that Elizabeth mentions in the afterward as I want to know more about Frank and Maud. I also liked how the author had Maud wanting to make sure the movie did justice to the story that Frank wrote and looked out for Judy. I did not realize how much of the story of the Wizard of Oz has snippets of Frank and Maud’s life. I highly recommend this book