Showing posts with label historical mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical mystery. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Haunting WWII fiction infused with mystery, suspense and time travel

Where David Threw Stones: A Haunting WW2 Tale of Courage, Love, and Redemption by Elyse Hoffman is one of those treasured reads I plan to read again. The plot takes place 30 years after WW II and is a blend of historical fiction infused with mystery and suspense merged with fantasy to create a captivating WWII story of the cursed German town of Brennenbach.

 

Book Review by Donna

About the Book

This town is under a curse and reverts back in time to revisit it’s Nazi occupation each night complete with very real SS ghosts. The protagonist, David Saidel, is a 10-year -Jewish boy sent to Brennenbach to live with his grandfather following the death of his parents resulting from an antisemitic crime. Life in Brennenbach delivers haunting secrets, plenty of mysteries, and ghost-like characters who are tangible and dangerous during the curse hours. Amid all this is David and his grandfather both need healing from a haunted past. 

I especially enjoyed how Elyse Hoffman captured David’s perspective as he gets to know the grandfather he never met and deals with his grief, guilt, desire to honor his dead parents, and the emotions of trying to make friends amid a climate of hatred and bigotry. Hoffman weaves several plot threads and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, and she brings it all to a rewarding ending well worth the read. I didn’t see it coming. Loved it.

@donnasundblad Book Review Where David Threw Stones #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookrecommendations #booktok #bookworm #booktour ♬ original sound Donna Sundblad

Book Review: Where David Threw Stones

If you’ve read Hoffman’s Book of Uriel, you’ll love this one, too. I didn't want to put it down. Her writing is masterful, subtly blending details that urgently pull multiple plot threads to a satisfying conclusion. I recommend Where David Threw Stones to readers who enjoy WWII fiction, ghost stories, as well as mysteries. I think people who enjoyed reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak will fall in love with this story. I award this book 5 stars. 

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and I received Where David Threw Stones as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with Black Coffee Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites. 


About Author Elyse Hoffman

Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. She loves to meld WWII and Jewish history with fantasy, folklore, and the paranormal. She has written six works of Holocaust historical fiction: the five books of The Barracks of the Holocaust and The Book of Uriel.

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Daemonhold Curse - Review

The Daemonhold Curse
by author Teel James Glenn

Fantasy/ Sword and Sorcery/ Mystery
Published by ePress-Online
Isbn#: 978-1-934258-07-1


TCM review by Eugen M. Bacon

“(Arinna) slapped him hard enough on his right cheek to stagger him. ‘Next time, Master Daemon, should you lay hands upon my person,’ her voice like a glacier, ‘I will close my fist before I reply to the insult.’”

Dame Arinna sparks bold, disarming in chamber as she is in combat. When night fills with sound, a curse settles upon the land. Come face to face with mortality, Lady Fidelity Daemon must employ the priestly expertise of warrior protectors. Fine pace, engaging dialogue and insightful writing, not to mention excerpts as if fresh from Fight School, all rally to affirm Teel James Glenn’s convincing and unsullied charm; his ability to write something sombre with levity without shrugging off its weight.

The Daemonhold Curse opens new insight to a medieval world fenced in tradition. The mantra and ceremony of the religion of Kova parallel in notice finely sequenced fight scenes across the novel. The inspired story does not fail to whet my appetite for more Teel James Glenn, including Gift of the Mage Eye: A Story of Altiva. The Daemonhold Curse is a refreshing read as seldom isn’t for a capable, convinced author who does not shudder to employ wit.

More About the Book

Five years ago the Kova Warrior Priest Lord Erique Shoutte: failed to save the elder Daemon sister, Lady Caution. The curse of a long ago accused sorceress states that each female member of the line will die, drained of blood, before the morning of their 21th birthday. No female Daemon has survived that morning in three hundred years.

Now the younger sister, Fidelity seeks Lord Shoutte out to protect her as her 21th birthday approaches.

“Why me?” Lord Shoutte asks. “I failed!”

“Because then you didn’t believe,” she replies. Now you do!”

Lord Shoutte and his long time friend the fierce swordswoman Dame Arinna Cabal undertake to save Fidelity, despite the attacks of religious radicals and thugs. But can they solve the mystery and save the new Lady Daemon or will they fall victim to The Daemonhold Curse themselves?


About the Author

Teel James Glenn is a native of Brooklyn though he has traveled the world for thirty years as a Stuntman/Coordinator/Swordmaster, Jouster, Book Illustrator, Storyteller, Bodyguard and Actor.

His books in the Altiva fantasy series are: Tales of a Warrior Priest, Death at Dragonthroat, The Daemonhold Curse, and Sister Warrior all from ePress-Online as are Knight Errant :Death and Life at the Faire , Them’s Fightin Words :A Writers Guide to Writing Fight Scenes and the forthcoming: The Vision Quest Factor and A Hex of Shadows.

The Exceptionals: #1 Measure of a Man and #2 Across the Wasteland are out from Whiskey Creek Press with #3 due next year.

He has stories published in AfterburnSF, Blazing Adventures, AnotherRealm, Event Horizon, Fantasy Tales, Mad, Black Belt, Alternative Cinema, Classic Pulp Fiction Stories, Weird Stories, Double Danger Tales, Startling Science Stories, Shots Writer’s Village and others.



Friday, August 22, 2008

See No Evil, My Pretty Lady by Miss Mae

Frost of Dark Angel Reviews gives the highest rating of excellence, five pixies, saying:

"...See No Evil, My Pretty Lady is a delightful and intriguing historical mystery which will satisfy fans of historical fiction, those who read for plot, and those who enjoy character revelation and development...Author Miss Mae provides a wealth of genuine historical detail in the setting and plot, delicately interwoven and subtle. The plot has sufficient twists and turns that readers will find themselves figuratively turning pages quickly to discover the next revelation. I can't imagine any reader who wouldn't enjoy this book, which is attention-maintaining, intriguing, and will linger in the mind after the end. I highly recommend this book."...

To read full review, go here...

https://www.darkangelreviews.com/See_No_Evil__My_Pretty.html


Author Bio:

Miss Mae writes in different genres. As a regular contributor to the syndicated American Chronicle, her serialized story, "The Mishaps of Gumdrop Island" and 'official unofficial' reporter named I.B. Nosey amuses adults as well as children. Her non-fiction and humor articles have appeared in Out of the Boxx, The Front Porch Magazine, and Good Old Days. "See No Evil, My Pretty Lady" is her first romantic mystery, published by The Wild Rose Press. "Said the Spider to the Fly" is contracted by the same publisher with release date pending.

She lives in Georgia with her wonderfully patient husband and three mixed breed adopted dogs.