Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick

Description
"In late October 1846, the last wagon train of that year's westward migration stopped overnight before resuming its arduous climb over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, unaware that a fearsome storm was gathering force. After months of grueling travel, the 81 men, women and children would be trapped for a brutal winter with little food and only primitive shelter. The conclusion is known: by spring of the next year, the Donner Party was synonymous with the most harrowing extremes of human survival. But until now, the full story of what happened--and what it tells us about human nature and about America's westward expansion--remained shrouded in myth.
Drawing on fresh archeological evidence, recent research on topics ranging from survival rates to snowfall totals, and heartbreaking letters and diaries made public by descendants a century-and-a-half after the tragedy, Ethan Rarick offers an intimate portrait of the Donner party and their unimaginable ordeal: a mother who must divide her family, a little girl who shines with courage, a devoted wife who refuses to abandon her husband, a man who risks his life merely to keep his word. Rarick resists both the gruesomely sensationalist accounts of the Donner party as well as later attempts to turn the survivors into archetypal pioneer heroes. "The Donner Party," Rarick writes, "is a story of hard decisions that were neither heroic nor villainous. Often, the emigrants displayed a more realistic and typically human mixture of generosity and selfishness, an alloy born of necessity."
A fast-paced, heart-wrenching, clear-eyed narrative history, Desperate Passage casts new light on one of America's most horrific encounters between the dream of a better life and the harsh realities such dreams so often must confront."

This is a work of non fiction, and I would recommend it whether you already know the gist of what happened to these people or whether you only think you know, Whether you have heard very little about it other than cannibalism was involved, or whether you have watched documentaries on the subject this is by far the best and most detailed account of events that I have come across. The Donner/Reed Party is an important part of American history. “Of the eighty-one people who had been trapped by the early autumn snow at the eastern edge of the Sierra, thirty-six had died and forty-five had survived. No one remained at the high camps. For the Donner Party, the journey was finished.”
But their story lives on.

Dark Fantasy: A Mike Angel Mystery by David H Fears

Description
"In late 1966, the world’s richest man, Howard Hughes, took occupancy of the top two floors of the Desert Inn on the Strip in Las Vegas. After his time was up he refused to vacate the space, and wound up buying the Inn for thirteen million dollars from the Mob.

Earlier that year Mike and Rick were called to an empty apartment where the body of a world-famous glamour model, a twin, was posed with flowers. The scene tipped Mike’s equilibrium, and when the surviving twin hit town he struggled with his darker fantasies.

Mike crosses the line when he breaks into a gallery’s back office and dark room to discover a strange pornographic film involving the dead twin and an underage boy. After viewing the film with Rick and Molly, Mike is persuaded to turn it over to the police, and take the heat for his actions. The film mysteriously disappears from the police evidence locker.

Hired by the surviving twin, also a model who makes Molly a bit jealous, the case leads Mike to Las Vegas, connections to local racketeer Big Jim Elkins, L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen, and then to Howard Hughes in Las Vegas. Can Mike gain entrance into the Hughes penthouse and verify Hughes’ possession of the porno film involving the dead twin? He’ll need an ingenious plan, which is supplied by a sexy Swedish blonde he meets at the newly opened Caesar’s Palace. If the plan to get in works, can he escape alive and get out of town? He cannot trust the Vegas authorities or even the FBI, who have been surveilling Hughes for bigger issues and offer no help.

Another complex novel, this set in Portland and Las Vegas in 1966, Dark Fantasy is the 7th in the Mike Angel Series, and follows Dark Moon. Just over 72,000 words. Warning! This is a Noir Novel complete with sarcastic humor back when PC wasn't eroding logic. If you find yourself laughing occasionally, that's okay. It's not a comedy."




Dark Fantasy is the 7th book in the Mike Angel series, and while you may want to read them in order I find I had no trouble getting into the story even though I have a haphazard way of jumping from book to book out of the order in which they were written. One of the things I love the best about the Mike Angel series is the way that facts are woven through the fiction, for example this story touched a bit on Howard Hughes bizarre and OCD-like behavior in his later years. It adds a great deal of realism to the story and more than once I found myself googling dates and names of gangsters to see what else was true, sort of like a bit of a history lesson wrapped up in an entertaining story. I also love how it all comes together at the end, nicely tied up with no loose ends to leave you hanging.

I received a complimentary copy for review

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

Description
"Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there's just one another resident her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life at Rosalind House. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke.

When Eve Bennett is suddenly thrust into the role of single mother she finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them."


Part romance, part tearjerker, this story is tragic yet inspiring, and heart felt.. Anna Forster has not had a great life, and now at only 38 years old it seems her life is coming to an end. She and her twin brother watched their mom deteriorate with Alzheimer's, and it would seem their dad never looked back after abandoning them. Now Anna herself has been diagnosed with the same deadly disease and can no longer take care of herself. She is one of only 2 "young people" in Rosiland House, the assisted living facility which is now her home.
Eve Bennett and her young daughter Clementine are also facing some hard times of their own, when Eve comes to take over as cook and housekeeper at Rosiland House. Having lost her home, her friends, and her money through no fault of her own Eve knows what it's like to have loved and lost. Eve forms a bond with Anna and finds herself risking losing her job to do what she can to make Anna's final days happy, and maybe at last find some happiness for herself and her daughter.

I received an advance copy for review.

Little Secrets by Megan Hart

Description
"With a baby on the way and a brand new house, it seems Ginny and her husband, Sean, are on their way to a fresh start. But strange occurrences and financial strain seem determined to keep Ginny and Sean stuck in the past. Ginny begins to believe the house may be haunted...or that her husband might be trying to trick her into thinking so. As Ginny researches the house's former owner and the tragedy that happened there, it becomes clearer than ever that something is in the house with them. The question is, who...or what...is it?"
Expected publication: February 2nd 2016 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd


I went into this expecting it to be just another haunted house story, which was actually ok with me since I do love a good haunting. However it was much more than I expected. Ginny and Sean are making a new start, after having gone through some rocky times in their marriage when Ginny lost their first baby. Pregnant again, and hormones all over the place Ginny often feels like she is not alone in the house. There are scratching noises in the walls that a visit from the exterminator doesn't get rid of. There are strange hot and cold areas even though they have a brand new heating system. The power goes out frequently and food either disappears or gets rearranged in the fridge, unless maybe it is her husband Sean trying to drive her crazy. Sometimes in the dark Ginny is almost sure she sees someone, or something. As Ginny becomes more frustrated with Sean's lack of help in setting up their things even though he is constantly nagging at her not to do it by herself, she comes across some strange items left in the house by the previous inhabitants and wonders if her house is haunted. But it is so much more than that.
This was a very suspenseful and spooky read and I often found myself more spooked about the goings on than Ginny seemed to be. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy for review