Little Souls by Sandra Dallas

This was an interesting read. By the end, I was caught up in the drama of two sisters’ lives unfolding. I couldn’t wait to find out how it would all be resolved. I was hoping for a happy ending, and I did find it but not without a few tears along the way. 

Our protagonist reflects and accepts the values of society’s view at the time, 1918. A pandemic is raging and after two sisters contact the disease, it’s as real as our current crisis. I felt the loss personally, as one loses her battle to the virus. 

A fortunate connection between the protagonist and her fiancé’s family allows our heroine to proceed more smoothly through her difficulties than without their assistance. However, she’s not relying on it. She has gratitude and understands the family’s grief at the loss of a son as well. 

A compassionate and caring woman with presence of mind to continue through misfortune brings me to admire her inner strength. 

I hesitated to proceed with this book early on. I found that there was more telling than showing in the early chapters. I found a disconnect with time which confused me. It was all resolved by a third of the way through the book and by the end I was right on the page with the heroine. 

I recommend this book but do have to caution about topics of rape, child abuse and murder. It’s not a cozy because of these topics but does not delve too deeply into the acts to trigger more than necessary. It’s essential to understand the desperation and fear that she feels. 

I received the ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley 

A Second Look at A Taste for Poison by Neil Bradbury

 The author should have provided the first clue. It is written by Ph.D. 

I didn't initially enjoy this book as much as I expected to since I obviously did not read the description very carefully. I was expecting a mystery with poison as the killer's choice. This is not a fictional novel. 

After reading more of the reviews from others and moving along with learning more about novel-writing, I realized what a wonderful "RESEARCH' opportunity this book provides. If you're a mystery writer and you need to choose your poison, this is your book. 

Poison Choices were provided with brief descriptions of fictional stories which utilized this choice along with the chemical properties and details of death. At this point in my writing career, this is the perfect choice. 

I'm changing the starts to 5.