Forgiving Maximo Rothman–A Review by Veronica Jorge
December 22, 2020 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as book review, Forgiving Maximo Rothman, National Jewish Book Awards Shortlist, Veronica Jorge
Forgiving Maximo Rothman: A Kurchenko & Gonzalves Mystery, Book 1 of a series
by A.J. Sidransky
Black Opal Books 2020
Revised edition.
ISBN: 9781953434517
About the Book
Tasked with solving the homicide of Maximo Rothman, an elderly man in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, Detective Tolya Kurchenko is hard pressed to keep peace in the polarized community. The Jews, mourning the loss of one of their own, are demanding more protection. The arrest of Carlos, the young man who helped care for Maximo and now accused of his murder, elicits cries of protest from the Dominican residents.
Kurchenko’s gut tells him that Carlos is innocent. Who then had motive and opportunity?
The detective determines to learn everything he can about Max and the people in his life. For now, the possible suspects are a son, a daughter-in-law, a helpful neighbor, and Carlos.
Reading Max’s journal reveals his past. The bitter loss of his family. Escape from Nazi Europe. And life as a refugee in the Dominican Republic, until he runs afoul of the Dominican dictator Trujillo and is forced to flee to New York City. Moreover, Kurchenko gets a glimpse into Max’s heart: a man who has known danger, deep love, bitter loss, and anger at a God who does not help in times of anguish.
The search for the truth takes on a life of its own, and in the process, Kurchenko discovers a man … just like him. The experience forces him to confront his own past filled with loss, anger and fear. Kurchenko’s murder investigation simultaneously becomes a search for life as he attempts to reconcile with the past, revive the dead parts of his heart, and boldly reach out to lay hold of love.
Why You Should Read It
Shortlisted by the National Jewish Book Awards for Outstanding Debut Fiction, Forgiving Maximo Rothman forges a compelling bond between past and present that transcends culture. For at every time and in every place one grapples with questions of identity, and responsibility for the lives and well-being of those around us and those in our care. Ultimately, in the words of Max, Sidransky’s novel reminds us that, “Life is too short to make enemies of those we love.”
Veronica Jorge
See you next year, January 22, 2021!
Books Reviewed by Veronica Jorge
BOOK REVIEW: MY FRIEND JACKSON BY CHRISTOPHER D. OCHS—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE
October 22, 2020 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as book review, Christopher D. Ochs, My Friend Jackson, New relaase
$16.95
eBook: $3.99
Author: Christopher D. Ochs
Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Tag: 2020
Publisher: Anigrafx LLC
Publication Year: 2020
ASIN: B08J2LMFP9
ISBN: 9780998172613
Being a teenager is tough enough: trying to fit in, figuring out who you are and want to be, and finding your place in the world. Jasmine Price also has to deal with being alone most of the time because her mom works two jobs to make ends meet. Her dad? Well, he’s been serving in the military so long Jasmine’s afraid she might be forgetting what he looks like.
But things seem to be looking up. They have moved out of the Projects into a better neighborhood; their neighbor Bibi, a grandmotherly figure, provides the companionship and confidante Jasmine needs while her mother’s at work, and Jasmine has a good shot at making the basketball team at her new high school.
That is until she runs afoul of Nevaeh, the team captain, and her crew. The game plan is on: take Jasmine out.
Hard pressed to deal with the escalating attacks and violence against her, Jasmine confides in Bibi who offers a solution to all of her problems: Jackson, a pet chameleon from her native Tanzania. This magical creature speaks and can transform not only his colors, but also his size, and defends, to the death, those he has sworn to protect.
When Jasmine uses the chameleon’s powers, things spiral out of control. She even becomes a police suspect in another teen’s disappearance.
Jasmine learns that by her actions she must choose who she wants to be, and realizes that positive change starts with her. Now she wants to get rid of Jackson, but how?
My Friend Jackson is a unique and riveting story of the physical and emotional impact of bullying, and the consequences of one’s actions and choices to resolve conflicts that every teenager and adult can relate to. A great and compelling story!
~Veronica Jorge
See you next time on November 22nd!
Buy Links for My Friend Jackson
$16.95
eBook: $3.99
Author:Christopher D. Ochs
Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Tag: 2020
Publisher: Anigrafx LLC
Publication Year: 2020
ASIN: B08J2LMFP9
ISBN: 9780998172613
Veronica Jorge Reviews Secret Relations A Novel by Rebecca Forster
May 22, 2019 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as book review, Finn O'Brien Thrillers, Rebecca Forster, Secret Relations, Veronica Jorge
Secret Relations
Finn O’Brien Thrillers
Book 3
Rebecca Forster
Review
A seasoned detective knows that the best way to solve a crime is to follow the money trail, especially in a particular L.A. neighborhood where the rich float on top while the bottom feeders sink below. But we’re talking about Detective Finn O’Brien and he’s in the other L.A., the one with sun-streaked neighborhoods burning with robbery and drugs, and where kids duck for cover under a lullaby of gunfire.
Amber, his partner Cori’s daughter, bypasses her mother and asks Finn for help in finding her missing friend, twenty-two year old Pacal Acosta. Finn is conflicted about keeping a secret from his partner and challenged by the impossibility of trying to gather information to track an undocumented male immigrant.
When a number of missing young immigrant men are found murdered, Finn’s instincts kick in. There’s a serial killer on the loose targeting immigrants, and Amber’s involvement is spooking the killer which means she’s in danger too.
Friendship and trust are tested when Cori discovers the secret pact between Finn and Amber, and when she learns that her daughter loves the missing young man, her worldview gets turned upside down. Cori struggles to accept her daughter’s openness to this new blended world and is forced to confront her own prejudices.
The three work together to compare notes and scenarios. Who would kill immigrants and why? Could it be gang related? Maybe the work of Marbles, a member of the Hard Time Locos, not yet 18 but whose “evil is already old and deeply ingrained.” Ruling out money and drugs, the three of them follow, not the money trail, but the trail of blood and dead bodies.
Finn and Cori investigate possible killers, interview members of the ethnic community, and try to keep Amber safe, all the while dreading the unspoken possibility. What if Amber’s young man is the next dead body they find?
With multiculturalism quickly becoming the new normal, the fast-paced thriller Secret Relations is the novel for our times. Read it!
See you next time on June 22nd.
Veronica
1 0 Read moreBook Review: One Taste too Many by Debra H. GoldStein A Review by Veronica Jorge
January 22, 2019 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews, Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as book review, Cozy mystery, Debra H Goldstein, first in a new series, Veronica Jorge
One Taste Too Many (A Sarah Blair Mystery)
First in a new series!
by Debra H. Goldstein
Kensington Publishing Corp. 2019 ISBN 9781496719478
They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It’s also an effective way to take him out—permanently!
Every clue points to Emily, a chef on the rise, and it doesn’t help that the dead man is Bill Blair…her twin sister Sarah’s ex-husband. Throw a third woman into the mix, Jane, the woman Bill was seeing who claims that Bill’s family inheritance belongs to her, including Sarah’s cat, and you’ve got a recipe for murder.
In the midst of a major Food Expo and fierce, (shall we say deadly?), chef competition aspiring careers will be made or broken. Emily’s lawyer Harlan, and Peter the police chief, all life-long friends, match evidence and wits to discover the identity of the real murderer and get Emily off the hook.
In One Taste Too Many, Debra Goldstein will put your sleuthing skills to the test. If you think you can run with the best of the pack; whether Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie, or Jessica Fletcher of the television series, Murder She Wrote, Debra will throw you for a loop each time you think you’ve solved the case.
Intriguing and entertaining, you will bury your nose in the book trying to pick up the scent of each new clue. But like a sophisticated recipe, you won’t be able to guess the secret ingredient. And like the expert storyteller that she is, Debra will keep you turning the pages until she reveals the culprit. It’s not who you think!
P.S. I tried the killer recipe included at the end of the book (‘killer’ as in taste, not the one that did poor Bill in. That’s why I’m still here). I didn’t get it to come out the way it was supposed to, but it’s light, refreshing, and delicious. And if I might add…one taste is to die for!
See you next time on February 22nd.
Veronica
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BOOK REVIEW: THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN’S HOROSCOPE CAME TRUE BY REBECCA FORSTER – A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE
December 22, 2018 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as book review, The Day Bailey Devlin's Horoscope Came True by Rebecca Forster, Veronica JorgeThe Day Bailey Devlin’s Horoscope Came True (Book 1 of the Bailey Devlin Series) by Rebecca Forster
Amazon Digital Services 2015 ASIN: B013XGNI06
Some people don’t celebrate Christmas. Others have overdosed on holiday movies. But EVERYONE loves a good story especially if, like a great meal, it satisfies and nourishes. And we all have hopes, dreams and wishes for the upcoming year.
So before you pick that next book off the shelf or make your New Year resolutions, you need to read Rebecca Forster’s, The Day Bailey Devlin’s Horoscope Came True. You’ll be glad you did!
Bailey Devlin, a lawyer in the making, wants a better life. Don’t we all! She’s sick and tired of living on the low-end as a sandwich maker, coupon-cutting to make ends meet, (they never do), and stifling her gourmet appetite. If she can just pass the upcoming bar exam she’ll have everything she always wanted. So she thinks.
Guided by the stars, Bailey follows her daily horoscope predictions. The latest one tells her that someone will knock on her door and she must let him in. Him? Has to be the love of her life to complete her dream.
Not.
It’s the 92 year-young Grandpa she never knew she had and she’s the designated next-of-kin to care for him. Bailey likens him to a hunk of kryptonite that lands in her living room sapping her strength.
Her life gets turned upside down: bar exam study partners that meet in her apartment ditch her, Ethan, her musician neighbor, and Jeffery, her lawyer friend help her with Grandpa but compete with each other for her affection.
And yes, things get worse.
Bailey shows up in the wrong court room one day to protest a ticket and is berated by the judge. Grandpa rises to her defense by stomping his walker on a guard’s foot, and challenging the judge to remove his sissy dress and “let’s take it out back.” She and Grandpa wind up in a jail cell!
Way past fed-up, unable and unwilling to care for Grandpa, and convinced it will be best for all concerned, Bailey commits Grandpa into the Rainbow Rest Retreat nursing home.
The day of the bar exam arrives and Bailey’s life is back on track… until Jeffery arrives to alert her that Grandpa has suffered a heart attack. Bailey is forced to choose between this stranger called Grandpa and her dream life.
Tende
r and hilarious, The Day Bailey Devlin’s Horoscope Came True will leave you wanting more. It might even make you hug that relative who drives you nuts.
And like Bailey, you may discover that life doesn’t always give you what you expect, but gives you exactly what you need.
See you next year on January 22, 2019. Until then, Happy New Year and Happy Reading!
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