Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput, which was nicely narrated by Allyson Ryan. In fact, Savannah Sleuth was my last read for the month of October.

I was able to download Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput for FREE from Chirp's website. Each week, Chirp Audiobooks offers a few free audiobooks for a limited time. 

Below is my honest, unbiased review for Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput.

Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput is the first novel in the 'Vigilantes For Justice' series. Based on the publisher's summary, I felt like Savannah Sleuth would be a good fit for me. It's a cozy mystery novel (I love cozy mysteries) set in Savannah, Georgia and the plot sounded intriguing enough for my taste.

However, Savannah Sleuth was a huge disappointment to me. I felt like there were way too many topics/bylines in this novel that received more attention than they should've. These side topics/bylines were too distracting. 

Additionally, the main character, Patricia Falcon, was too wimpy for someone who works with other women to help rescue badly abused women in Savannah, Georgia. Patricia seemed too emotionally fragile for this type of work. 

Speaking of rescuing abused women, Patricia Falcon and her crew only did one rescue of an abused woman at the start of the novel. After that, the rest of the novel was focused on other topics. If part of the novel's focus is to highlight the fact that Patricia and her crew rescue abused women, then I'd have liked to see more of that focused on in Savannah Sleuth rather then focusing on other nonessential bylines.

Savannah Sleuth also seems to fall into the Christian fiction genre as well. I don't have any specific beef with the Christian fiction genre. But Christian fiction isn't something I gravitate towards. There was too much talk about the church for me in this novel.

Below is the publisher's summary for Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput from Chirp's website:

Though born to heirloom pearls, designer dresses and lush garden parties, Savannah social icon Patricia Falcon and three of her closest friends spend their days in Savannah’s dark side rescuing abused women. Patricia’s darling mother, a prominent philanthropist, drops dead, and the police are baffled by her untimely death. Patricia recruits her three friends to help her investigate what she believes is murder. “Savannah Sleuth” is a page-turning journey from Savannah’s Southern wealth and grace into the hidden corners of Savannah and across two continents in a deadly pursuit of justice.

I am giving Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars. Needless to say, I won't continue reading the remaining novels in the 'Vigilantes For Justice' series.

Listening time for Savannah Sleuth by Alan Chaput is 8 hours, 14 minutes.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian

The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian was published earlier this year on April 6, 2021. I first learned about this historical fiction novel set in Mississippi from another book blogger (I have forgotten which book blogger off the top of my head) who loved this novel! 

So, I decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian and narrated by Johanna Parker. Listening time for this novel is 9 hours, 56 minutes.

I'm glad I read The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian. It's a good read, but I didn't care for the narration of this novel. The southern accent felt off to me, so I wish I'd read the book instead of listened to it.

The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian is a debut novel by the author and it is impressive for a first novel. Overall the writing was good. So is the storyline/plot... However, at times I felt like the pace of The Girls in the Stilt House was slow. 

My favorite character from The Girls in the Stilt House is Gertie/“Miss Tuttle", who is an elderly, colored midwife/nurse who is filled with so much wisdom. Gertie/“Miss Tuttle" is a true treasure within the community.

Below is the plot summary for The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian from Amazon:

Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Southern novel weaves a beautiful and harrowing story of two teenage girls cast in an unlikely partnership through murder—perfect for readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and If the Creek Don't Rise.

Ada promised herself she would never go back to the Trace, to her hard life on the swamp and her harsh father. But now, after running away to Baton Rouge and briefly knowing a different kind of life, she finds herself with nowhere to go but back home. And she knows there will be a price to pay with her father.

Matilda, daughter of a sharecropper, is from the other side of the Trace. Doing what she can to protect her family from the whims and demands of some particularly callous locals is an ongoing struggle. She forms a plan to go north, to pack up the secrets she's holding about her life in the South and hang them on the line for all to see in Ohio.

As the two girls are drawn deeper into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption, they must come to terms with the complexities of their tenuous bond and a hidden past that links them in ways that could cost them their lives.

I am giving The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore

I thoroughly enjoyed reading of Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore. Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen is the first novel I've read by Susan Gregg Gilmore and I look forward to exploring her other published works... Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen also happens to be the first novel written by the author and what an amazing first novel it is! The title of this novel is what captured my attention initially, but the writing, storyline, plot development and characters are what kept me reading until the very end.

Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen is set in Ringgold, Georgia during the 1970s and is essentially a coming of age story. I loved the protagonist, Catherine Grace Cline, and her journey through childhood to adulthood. Catherine Grace and her sister, Martha Ann, grow up without a mother and are raised by their preacher father. It was fun to read about Catherine Grace's trials, tribulations, and see her perspective change as she grows older. Some unexpected events happen along the way, which make for a fun read. 

As a side note, I can't ever recall eating at a Dairy Queen before, but now I want to try a Dilly Bar after reading Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore!!

The following is summary for Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore from Amazon:

Sometimes you have to return to the place where you began, to arrive at the place where you belong.

It’s the early 1970s. The town of Ringgold, Georgia, has a population of 1,923, one traffic light, one Dairy Queen, and one Catherine Grace Cline. The daughter of Ringgold’s third-generation Baptist preacher, Catherine Grace is quick-witted, more than a little stubborn, and dying to escape her small-town life.

Every Saturday afternoon, she sits at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly Bars and plotting her getaway to Atlanta. And when, with the help of a family friend, the dream becomes a reality, she immediately packs her bags, leaving her family and the boy she loves to claim the life she’s always imagined. But before things have even begun to get off the ground in Atlanta, tragedy brings Catherine Grace back home. As a series of extraordinary events alter her perspective--and sweeping changes come to Ringgold itself--Catherine Grace begins to wonder if her place in the world may actually be, against all odds, right where she began.

Intelligent, charming, and utterly readable, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen marks the debut of a talented new literary voice.

Below is a short video on YouTube of author, Susan Gregg Gilmore, discussing how she became a writer. What an amazing, short blurb on the fact that you can become a writer at any age and without having been an English major in college.

 I am giving Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!