Review: The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne (Verlaque and Bonnet #5) by M. L. Longworth

This book combined three of my favorite things…..art, France, and mystery. Judge Antoine Verlaque is enjoying his life and work in the small town of Aix-en-Provence. Provence was once home to the art worlds most famous painters, Paul Cezanne.

A friend in Judge Verlaque’s cigar club asks him to visit René Rouquet, a man who not only lives in Cezanne’s old apartment, but thinks he found a previously unknown Cezanne portrait. When the Judge and his friend arrive at Rouquet’s apartment, they are shocked to find him dead…..and the canvas is missing.

After tracking down the canvas, the Judge and his girl friend Marine Bonnet, begin looking into the canvas’s authenticity. The woman in the portrait is clearly not Madam Cezanne, so the natural question is ‘who is the women in the portrait’?

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Review: Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

Cat Jordan is about to get the surprise of her life when she opens a mysterious letter from Paris. Cat has been working as a photographer and basically lives a very bohemian lifestyle.

She has a boyfriend, Christian, who she has been with for a while who is much different than she is…..his family is very wealthy and he is very traditional. Basically they are complete opposites but it seems to be working….ish.

Well Cat finally decides to open the mysterious letter, only to find that she has inherited something…..from a woman she has never heard of! Side note, why can’t this sort of thing happen to me?!

Cat calls the lawyer in Paris who has written the letter and he explains that it is indeed true and she is to come to Paris immediately to claim her inheritance. He doesn’t tell her what it is but her letter came with a key so she suspects if must be something of value…..especially if she needs to fly to Paris to claim it.

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Review: Nerve by Dick Francis

Steeplechase is an equestrian sport that takes a very special kind of athlete. Jockeys have to be a little crazy, fearless, and sort of adrenaline junkies to enter into the sport.

Rob Finn has that special combination of crazy and fearless….all he cares about is racing and winning. Literally nothing else matters to him. Finn is working his way up in the steeplechase world and basically has nerves of steel but he is always picked to ride second rate horses.

Then the day comes where he is in the right place at the right time, a fellow jockey takes a spill and Finn is hired to ride in his place. But then Finn too takes a spill, and after that he is always on slow horses so many start to wonder if he has lost his nerve.

Finn starts to wonder if he is the target of a plot to undermine his career. Finn sets out to clear not just his own reputation but the reputation of his fellow jockeys. This book immediately hooks the reader from the first paragraph, where a jockey shoots himself in front of Finn. From that moment on, the race is literally on to find out who is sabotaging Finn’s races and why.

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Review: Lamb Black, Wolf Grey by Paula Brackston

Artist Laura Matthews and her husband Dan and decided to move to the Welsh countryside for a couple of reasons. They have enjoyed their lives in the city but for Laura, she hopes that living in the country will inspire not only her artwork, but also a baby.

Dan and Laura have tried repeatedly for a baby and nothing has seemed to work. Laura hopes that the relaxed environment will help them achieve what they both desire, and she hopes that living there will help ease some of the other difficulties in their marriage. Dan on the other hand is not terribly excited about living in the remote area but he does hope that they will have a baby.

The Welsh mountains are full of legend and lore….and a host of other characters. There is Rhys the charismatic loner who pursues Laura with fervor. And Anwen, the wise old woman from the neighboring farm who seems to know so much but talks in riddles. And then there is the mysterious Merlin.

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Review: Avelynn by Marissa Campbell

Avelynn, a Saxon noblewoman in 869, has enjoyed luxuries that most women of her time haven’t. Her father is a lord and allows her to attend gatherings and she eventually hopes to rule her lands….the last things she expects is for her father to marry her off.

Her father has allowed her to have a say in her suitors but with the threat of a Viking invasion and growing tensions abroad, his patience is wearing thin with her being picky. Avelynn continues to reject just about every suitor that  presents himself….her parents’ marriage was a love match so why shouldn’t her’s be one as well?

Well, her father has tolerated just about enough and arranges a marriage for her. When she learns of the arrangement she sets out with a trusted adviser to pray to her goddess for guidance. While performing an ancient ritual to the gods, Viking raiders surprise them.

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