Elaine Orr

Corazon Sanchez, her baby brother Pico, and their mother, Isabella, have walked from Honduras to the US-Mexico border, fleeing the gangs that killed Corazon's father, Manuel. They wanted more protection money for the family's store than they can afford to pay. Also, though, Manuel and his father, Tito, helped save the life of an American soldier, Colonel Bill Haines, years ago when Manuel was a young man. That may also have been a sore spot for the gangs.

The Sanchez family think they are show more walking towards safety, but they don't know about the changes under the new President (not Trump; the people are all fictionalized.) They don't know about the family separation policy.

And they left too quickly to let Colonel Bill know they were coming.

Meanwhile, civil rights activists, social workers who have to care for some of the frightened children, even Border Patrol agents who never thought that they were signing up to rip children from their parents, want to do something, though they don't yet know what.

And somewhere, someone has decided on the something.

A shadowy group kidnaps Kyra, the ten-year-old daughter of the most visible spokesman for the family separation policy. By chance, Kyra's best friend Bethany is with her, and also taken.

When Corazon, her mother, and her brother arrive at the border, they are quickly spotted by--not the Border Patrol agents that don't like this policy. They're agents who are positively eager to enforce it, as harshly as possible. The children are immediately separated from their mother. Because Corazon clings so tightly to her year-old brother, and he to her, it takes longer to separate them, but it happens.

But a freelance reporter is close enough to get pictures of the initial separation of Isabella and her children, and the swiftness and brutality of it. He contacts a reporter at the Washington Post.

And Colonel Bill, when those pictures are published, recognizes Isabella from the pictures Manuel sent over the years. Events start building toward a climax.

There's a lot happening here, and Orr gets in done with compact, elegant efficiency. The characters are beautifully developed with not a lot of words, and both the urgency and the ambiguity of people, events, and actions is made clear with a delicate tough.

Highly recommended.

I received this audiobook as part of Audible's Audible Originals program, and am reviewing it voluntarily. show less

Jolie Gentil moved back home to Ocean Alley after her husband was put in the witness protection program (another story) and works as a real estate appraiser for Harry Steele's agency. When she's asked to appraise an old home she finds an attic filled with treasures...until a skeleton pops out from a closet and the head falls down the staircase with Jolie.

Now she's figured out the skeleton is that of Richard Tillotson, who vanished in 1929. But finding out his killer is another problem, one show more her Aunt Madge wants her to leave alone. But Jolie has a deep curiosity about the murder, and goes to see Richard's 94-year-old girlfriend in the hope that the woman can give her some insight.

With another murder more modern, and Jolie armed with old photo albums and ledgers, she's planning on figuring it all out. But someone doesn't want her to, and they're willing to kill her to keep the family secrets...

In full disclosure, I haven't read any others in this series. I actually picked this book up because it was supposed to be about the holiday season, which we are into. While there is a mention or two of Christmas, this book could take place any time of the year and it wouldn't matter. There are no decorations, no trees, no town decorations, no snow...no nothing. Why? Doesn't Jolie's family celebrate the holiday? There isn't even any holiday shopping, or mention of meals. All in all, this book didn't produce what it promised.

In defense, I will say that yes, it had a mystery, but even so, there could have been some decent reference to Christmas in passing more than just moving on to where Jolie gets up on New Year's Day. Say what? What happened to the week between Christmas and New Year's? This is what to expect. There are also no descriptions of the B&B or any of the town. It left me wondering exactly where Ocean Alley might be, and if anyone else lived there.

But, back to the murder: it was done very well, and there were a few suspects on the line, but actually there were no clues leading to the murderer, which I found disappointing. There were scenes of the food pantry and Jolie's introduction into it, and Scoobie, who is really odd and I don't know whether I like him or not yet; the characters I really like are Mary Doris and Lance. They, at least, have stories to tell. I do like mysteries within mysteries, and that is what saved this book for me.

Although I didn't feel that this book was a page-turner, it was done well enough that I will more than likely go back to the first book and continue on with the series. Perhaps after reading a few more books I will warm up to more of the characters that people the book. show less

amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, cozy-mystery, murder-investigation, Iowa*****

Twisty and with lots of suspense. Set in small town rural Iowa which, basically could be farm town anywhere. Everybody knows everyone's business, and the gossip is spread really fast. The murder victim was an unlucky opportunist, the alleged murderer a former resident with a good reason to seriously dislike the man. Plus, there's a manuscript of a mystery novel based on local events, suspicion of illegal goings on, show more and a deputy with an ax to grind, and some really serious hard evidence. Good reflection of rural reality and some real characters! I loved it!
I now have the audio and the reader is better than the robot but has no idea how to talk Midwestern. show less

amateur sleuth, women sleuths, cozy mystery, murder investigation, Iowa

Twisty and with lots of suspense. Set in small town rural Iowa which, basically could be farm town anywhere. Everybody knows everyone's business, and the gossip is spread really fast. The murder victim was an unlucky opportunist, the alleged murderer a former resident with a good reason to seriously dislike the man. Plus, there's a manuscript of a mystery novel based on local events, suspicion of illegal goings on, and a show more deputy with an ax to grind, and some really serious hard evidence. Good reflection of rural reality and some real characters! I loved it! show less