Dear Mrs. Jenoff,

In my never ending quest to find historical novels set in unusual times and places, I stumbled on “The Diplomat’s Wife.” Off the top of my head, I can’t recall anything similar to it - Polish, Jewish, resistance heroine who starts as a Gestapo prisoner who is saved by the American invasion of Germany, who then finds and loses love in the chaos of post war Europe, then goes on to forge a life for herself and her daughter only to have her past catch up with her during the fall of Czechoslovakia. Yep, can’t think of too many other novels that fit that description. Based on the blurb, I almost didn’t read it. Want to talk dark description of a book? Want to leave a reader with the impression that this poor heroine goes through the wringer and might not have a very happy ending? Yeah, that’s what I thought until I read the book.

Marta Nederman is one strong woman. I once read something about resistance fighters that said they were willing to kill badly wounded comrades to keep them out of the hands of the Germans. Without going into gory details, you make it plain that there were times when Marta wished she’d turned her gun on herself after shooting a German officer. Then after the camps and prisoners were liberated by the Allies, she still has to physically recover and try to determine where she’ll go in a world where she has no one.

I was totally mesmerized as I watched Marta struggle to find a place for herself. She has no family left, no home to return to even if she wanted, a satchel that holds her entire worldly possessions and an American GI who keeps popping up in her life. Some might call this portion of her life a series of astounding coincidences but after having read of survivors whose lives turned on just such unlikely events, I can believe it.

And even after life throws her down another time, she still manages to keep going. To be thankful to be alive in a time when untold millions died and she had watched her friends give their lives to fight the Nazis. To enjoy her daughter even while wishing that her married life could have been all she once dreamed it would be. To seize the chance to use her past to make a difference in a Europe that was falling to communism a little more every day.

The scenes of Marta’s recovery at Leopoldskron Castle, her desperate efforts to get a visa to England from Paris, the political unrest in Prague and devastation of the Soviet sector of Berlin were riveting. I thought it realistic that she made some mistakes since she is “only a diplomat’s wife” and not a trained spy. Her second guessing her decision to stay in Prague and then journey to Berlin in the face of assassination attempts makes sense when she thinks of her daughter waiting for her at home. Her choice to keep going fits with her character as she remembers those who died and thinks of how many could be helped if she can pull off this mission.

I did figure out some of the twists and turns you tossed into the second half of the book. Though you did surprise me with a couple of big ones. The ultimate denouement scene did veer into soap opera territory which is why I’ve graded down a little. I also wondered at how little Marta thinks of what happened to her once she gets to England. Yes, she says she wants to put those horrible memories behind her and occasionally something will vividly bring her past into her present thoughts but I would think she’d have more outward scars from six years of surviving such a terrible war. But maybe this is due to a difference in how we deal with trauma now vs then. Still, my grade is a strong B.

~Jayne

This is a sequel to last year’s “The Kommandant’s Girl.”

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.

I have 20!! copies of this great hardcover to giveaway. Drop a comment and let me know why you are interested in reading this book.

Dear Ms. Rose:

Congratulations on going hardcover. It’s a tough time to make the move, what with the cratering economy and all. Even before it cost be $10 to drive from home to work and back again everyday, I always held hardcover books to a higher standard. After all, at the increased price, the book had to be 3 times as good as other books because of the foregone opportunity cost. (e.g. I could buy 3 paperbacks at the price of 1 hardcover). While Scream for Me isn’t a perfect book, I’d still rather read it than three other romantic suspenses on the market.

Before I talk about what I liked (which was most everything, particularly the romance), I’ll state what I thought was the major flaw of the story. This book is part two of a set of three stories. The first is Die For Me and without having read it, I do wonder whether readers will be lost. The second problem I had with the story was the murky motivations of the villian. I can’t really state more without giving much of the mystery away, but I felt like his choice of victims weren’t consistent.

Daniel Vartanian is a special agent with the Georgia State police. He’s just been part of a high profile case where his brother, Simon, who had been presumed dead, had been caught killing a number of people in Philadelphia, including Daniel’s parents. Simon had a lot of secrets, some of which Daniel knew, but most he did not. The one secret that he knew was that Simon had photographed fifteen girls being raped. One of those girls was murdered thirteen years ago in Dutton, Georgia - Daniel’s hometown. When a body of a young woman is left wrapped in blanket in a ditch in Dutton with the details markedly similar to the previous murder, Daniel requests to be put on the case. He feels that perhaps he can find vindication for these unknown girls.

Alex Tremaine is the twin sister of the girl was who killed thirteen years ago. She had left Dutton after her sister’s murder and her mother’s suicide to go live in Ohio with her aunt’s family. But when her stepsister, Bailey, goes missing and leaves her four year old daughter alone, Alex returns to Dutton to face the demons of her past.

This is confusing when I write it out in this review, but it actually makes sense in the book. It’s a twisty and convoluted story of a villian who was done wrong and bided his time to gain revenge. His revenge is two fold, though, and that’s where it gets confusing. The two fold revenge is necessary to involve Alex and to ratchet up the conflict. Could it have been done differently and less confusing and still be full of suspense? Hard to say.

Because all of your past books have had themes, I looked carefully for the connecting thread here. Both Daniel and Alex suffer from survivor’s guilt and in some cases, it is warranted. They both suffered mightily as kids and escaped when they had the chance, not looking back. The failure to look back, the determination to keep running ended up hurting people close to them.

Alex and Daniel have great chemistry and even though this story takes place over a compressed period of time (a few days), I still believed in both their connection and their future together. I thought the sex scenes, which are so often contrived and somewhat superfluous, were very well placed and tender. I loved their first kiss.

He’d put his car in gear when the bungalow door opened and Alex stepped onto the porch and his breath caught in his throat. She wore a sensible robe that covered her from her chin to her toes. It should have made her look dowdy and plain, but all he could think about was what lay underneath. The wind had kicked up, tossing her glossy hair, and she scooped it back with one hand to stare at him across the tiny front yard.

There was no smile on her face. The thought registered as he killed his engine and crossed her yard, single-minded in his intent. To leave her, to drive on by, never entered his mind, only to have now what he’d wanted earlier, what the call from the Fun-N-Sun security chief had kept him from taking. He needed to see that wide-eyed wonder again, the look in her eyes when she’d finally understood what he wanted from her. He needed to see that she wanted him, too.

Without slowing for a greeting, he took the porch stairs in one step, took her face in his hands, covered her mouth with his, and took what he needed. She made a hungry sound deep in her throat and leaned up on her toes, trying to get closer, and the kiss exploded into motion and heat.

She let go of her hair and her robe to clutch at the lapels of his coat, propelling her mouth into his. Daniel let go of her face to pull her arms around his neck. He splayed his hands across her slender back and pulled until her body was flush against him and he took what he wanted as the wind whistled and screamed around them.

It had been too long, was all he could think, all he could hear over the wind and the pounding of his own pulse in his ears. Too long since he’d felt like this. Alive. Invincible. Too damn long. Or maybe never.

Alex and Daniel shared similar pasts, ones marked with tragedy, and they served as a good foil for one another. My blogging partner, Jayne, talks about how much she enjoys the “real guy” talk and there is certainly some of that in Scream for Me. In fact, the points of levity in this suspense book come from Daniel’s interaction with his male co-workers and friends.

Daniel watched her go, wishing he could make her sorrow and fear go away and a little guilty that he couldn’t quite get the picture of her in a proper bed out of his mind. He turned back to find Chase looking at him with scornful disbelief.

“You just couldn’t stay on that sofa, could you?”

Daniel couldn’t stop the grin that seemed to take over his face. “Actually, I did.”

Chase rolled his eyes. “Oh, for God’s sake, Daniel. On the sofa?”

Daniel shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

…

His eyes were that piercing blue that made her shiver. “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you. I hope I didn’t get you into any trouble, answering the phone like that.”

He got out of bed, stretching his shoulders one way and then the other while she watched for the simple pleasure of doing so. “No,” he drawled. “Chase already knew.”

Her eyes widened. “You told him? Daniel!”

“No,” he drawled again. “I’m a guy, Alex. When we have head-banging sex on a sofa, it’s written all over our faces. Everybody knows.”

The two leads are so likeable, even though they may have been less than responsible earlier on, that I could not wait for their happy ever after to arrive. They certainly deserved it.

I’ve read every book you’ve written so far (except for the novella) and I don’t think I’ve rated any lower than a B- (if that). Your consistency in writing good suspense paired with good romance is to be applauded. A-

Best regards,

Jane

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.

Dear Mrs. Rigler,

When your publicist queried DA about a possible review for your book “Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict,” I admit to groaning and rolling my eyes. Not another book designed to appeal to the Austeninistas, I thought. Can’t these authors think of their own plots and characters? Must they keep endlessly recycling versions of Austen’s books? Then I caught sight of something that grabbed my attention. This was supposed to be about a modern 21st century woman who transposes back in time and gets to see England as it was then and who discovers just how dirty, germ-filled, and restricted a place it really was. Well, that’s different, I thought. I’ll give it a try.

When I hauled it out of its mailing envelope, I said a silent prayer that it wasn’t going to be a ‘Chick Lit’ style book with a heroine condemned to doing stupid things in order to be ‘cute’ and show the difference in life then vs now. You answered that prayer with a sharp heroine who quickly decides it’s in her best interests to curb her language and actions. The manner in which she initially ‘deals’ with her transposition is realistic. The way in which she manages to blend into a society so different and ‘pass’ is inventive and totally convincing. Her gradual adjustment to her new body makes sense as do her occasional slip-ups.

I did wonder at how easily her confidante accepted her confession of the truth. The fortune teller was an interesting character. Her explanation of the fluidity of time served as well as anything to account for the transposition as well as show why Courtney might have trouble getting back home.

I loved Courtney’s reactions to the grim, grimy reality of life in Austen England. Though she quickly learned not to speak her disgust at the skeevy waiters, overwhelming BO, nasty inns and the horrors of drinking and bathing in the waters of Bath, her inner asides were priceless. I almost LOL when she acts like any star struck denizen of LA during her brief visit to London.

Up through the end of her visit to Bath, I can understand how she doesn’t fully comprehend how her actions can impact the lives of others. Mary pretty much finally lays it out in terms that anyone who has a minimal IQ could understand. That coupled with Courtney’s own knowledge of Austen’s world through her repetitive readings of Austen’s books seemed to finally ‘bring it all home’ to Courtney. Which makes it all the more surprising what she almost does in London. As I read that scene, I kept thinking WTF? How can she do this, risk this, continue with this when she knows the consequences should she be caught? Yes, Courtney does seem to ‘get it’ after returning home and being confronted with her mother’s suspicions but she should have already ‘gotten it’ after Bath.

I also still have some questions about the final denouement of the scene with Edgeworth. At first I thought that Courtney finally accepts where she is and has no further thoughts of trying to return to her modern life in LA. But then the epilogue diary entry coupled with what Courtney told James makes me think there was some kind of a fusion thing going on. So, what really happened or are we supposed to fill in whatever we want there?

While I am tired of authors retelling Austen’s stories from endless different viewpoints and carrying on with the lives of the next generation of characters, I thought your clever working of the situations from her books into your book was great. After all, Austen was writing about the world she knew so it’s not surprising that those same circumstances would be encountered by anyone living in those times. I enjoyed watching Courtney grow as a person and delighted in her finally finding her own ‘Mr Darcy.’ B+

~Jayne

This book can be purchased in trade paperback from Amazon or Powells or ebook format.