Who Rescued Who by Victoria Schade

Who Rescued Who. Victoria Schade. Penguin Publishing Group. March 2020. pb, 352 pp.; ISBN #: 9780593098837.

Elizabeth, aka Bess, gets fired from her high tech Silicon Valley job at Dutchess Games.  It also seems that she knows something about the top woman of her former social media company that said much about the bad nature of the product they were selling. For now, Elizabeth is overwhelmed and is taking a short trip to England to visit her father’s relatives.  These are not people she even knew were alive before now; however, it turns out she has inherited a piece of property.  It seems vague and complicated but she will find out the answers to the dozen questions she has.

Imagine her head in a whirlwind when she meets her Uncle, her father’s brother, who lives on lovely land and has amazing neighbors in Fargrove, UK.  Her father and Uncle parted over loving the same woman.  Uncle Rowan is an extremely talented artist as well as a sheep owner.  His wife Trudy is a warm, dynamic woman who is both understanding about the past and enthusiastic about the future.

Little by little Elizabeth becomes friendly with a beekeeper, a coffee shop owner, a brewery owner, and several gallery owners.  All are very dedicated to their business but unlike Elizabeth’s former colleagues are warm and inviting people who don’t put business over people. 

So who needs rescuing? It’s obviously Elizabeth or Bess and this is her story or her journey to discover what part of her past has meaning and what is just a way to push away what she can’t face from that past. Along the way she rescues a black and white puppy and loves her Uncle’s collie, dogs who are yearning for the same escape from loneliness and yearning for permanent, loving connection.  Pages and pages of beautiful descriptions demonstrate the delightful antics of these dogs who teach Elizabeth about the nature of true love. Could Fargrove be a similar end or the new beginning of a life for the rescuer of these charming canine friends?

The author uses this story to emphasize the depths of true love, friendship, trust, loyalty, and community.  This is contemporary fiction par excellence which is highly recommended warm, engaging and transformative fiction that promises to make readers cry and laugh out loud!  You won’t want it to end!

Act of Murder: A Doc Brady Mystery: A Medical Thriller by John Bishop, M.D.

Act of Murder: A Doc Brady Mystery. A Medical Thriller.  John Bishop M.D. Mantid Press. March 2020. pb, 281 pp.; ISBN #: 97817342511040.

In the spring of one year, a neighbor of Dr. Brady dies.  He’s hit by a car and that person doesn’t stop and acknowledge what’s been done.  The police detective says to the doctor that if he remembers anything, he should contact her.  He remembers a red car a few days later. 

This is the story of how the murderer is uncovered. It’s all tied in, the death of another twin.   A shared health problem.  The death of a doctor who could have been alive today had he been treated earlier.  The skills of his son, J. J. and his friend, who are computer whiz kids and are able to track bank accounts and people who just might be part of a connection. 

All in the middle of a busy orthopedic surgeon’s life. His practice is just as successful and he’s got a great relationship with his peers. He’s got a great wife and a talented son who helps him out in this case.  He’s unable to forget this case and it’s this linkage that keeps him going. 

What could a murderer do with what’s really a secret?  Not going to spoil this one but it’s upsetting to say the least!   

This is a great mystery and it’s done in a very realistic way that makes you keep reading! 

A medical thriller for sure!  Highly recommended reading!

Darling Rose Gold: A Novel by Stephanie Wrobel

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel. Simon & Schuster. March 2020. pb, 320 pp.; ISBN #: 9780593100066.

Rose Gold spent her first eighteen years of life as an ill child.  She had every disease one could think of, had to drop out of school because of the taunting of other children, and had the support and assistance of everyone in the neighborhood.  But it turned out that her mother Patty was just a really good liar and was responsible for her daughter’s ill health, now known as Munchausen disease.  It’s an illness that binds mothers to their children in a very sick way, literally. Patty was even quite good at spouting medical knowledge and suggesting solutions to doctors and nurses in offices and the local hospital.

Patty eventually serves five years in prison for her lies and has a plan for her daughter who is the one who turned her in to the police.  Meanwhile, Rose finally meets the father she thought was dead, the father with another wife and other children.  He says he wants her in his life but the reality turns out quite different.  Rose refuses to accept this. 

While all this is going on, even Rose’s good friends turn out to not be that loyal.  Rose deserves a break and the reader will definitely be rooting for something better to happen to her, not realizing how surprised they are about to be. At one point, there are some flashbacks in Patty’s life that make the reader feel a bit more compassionate about why she’s like she is.   This is definitely a very dark, stark and twisted tale.

Patty develops a complete plan by which she thinks she will have the last laugh over Rose and the snooty neighbors.  Patty, however, is not as sharp as she thinks because it’s really Rose who has a remarkable plan to get vengeance for her lost years of normal living.

All the appearances of “darling” are just that, appearances.  For those who love thrillers, this is your book.  Quite a contemporary fiction creation!  Enjoy!