A Little Birdie Told Me by Sharley Scott

Publication Date: January 25, 2021

It’s 1988 and Belinda is working in a nursing home after having had quite the career driven fall.  Her new job is boring and a bit frustrating but the light at the end of that tunnel is her co-worker, Joe for whom she harbors a secret attraction though her insecurity stands in the way of hope. When thefts and worse start to happen at the nursing home, she turns to Joe. When she discovers something disturbing, she has to decide if she’ll go along to get along or if she’ll stand up for what is right and protect her residents.

I received this book for review from the Book Club Reviewer Facebook group.

 

A Little Birdie Told Me is a snapshot of the 80s. Scott puts great care into the narrative place in time. I graduated high school and started college in 1988. Scott winks at her readers through topical jokes that, given the popularity with young folk of the 80s, will unlikely become dated but could evade a certain audience but then the genre of women’s fiction itself can sometimes be a bit specific. Scott’s humor will have broad appeal. Despite the attention to background detail, A Little Birdie Told Me is a quick read that flows really well. Continue reading A Little Birdie Told Me by Sharley Scott

They Call Me Crazy by Kelly Stone Gamble

Publication Date: November 12, 2014

 

They Call Me Crazy by Kelly Stone GambleIn They Call Me Crazy by Kelly Stone Gamble, Cass Adams has always been a bit crazy but in recent years she’s gone off the charts to the extent that her husband had to move her out of town. When she’s found with her dead husband’s body, everyone knows what happened. Roland was well liked in the community and gregarious and no one knows what he was doing with Crazy Cass. Cass has always been a person without a filter and the quirky residents of Deacon, Kansas with the exception of her Grams and Roland’s brother, Clay, are ready to see her fry. Is everything as simple as it looks?

 

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The Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtis

Publication Date: November 25, 2014

 

In The Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtis, Janie KThe Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtisnox is living a happy life with her partner in Savannah when she discovers that she only has a few months left to live. Time is short and Janie must face the past by returning to Atlanta to tie up the loose ends of the past. Will she reconnect with the sister she abandoned and will she be able to face off with her mother’s killer and do what must be done before time runs out?

 

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The Paragraph Ranch by Kay Ellington and Barbara Brannon

Publication Date: August 30, 2014

 

The Paragraph Ranch by Kay Ellington and Barbara BrannonIn The Paragraph Ranch by Kay Ellington and Barbara Brannon, Dee Kaufman’s mother is injured in a car accident and Dee must return to the tiny Texas town in which she was raised to help her recover. Working against a make or break literary deadline, Dee must care for her mother while struggling with the eternal question. Can you go home again?

 

 

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Jonny Bails Floatin and the Luck of the Bioluminescence by J. Lee Glassman

Publication Date: July 14, 2013

 

Jonny Bails Floatin and the Luck of the Bioluminescence by J. Lee GlassmanIn Jonny Bails Floatin and the Luck of the Bioluminescence by J. Lee Glassman, Jonny Bails is a Florida street performer when he develops a case of bioluminescence. His lucky new skill and newfound celebrity come with marked disadvantages. Can Jonny find the answers he seeks before its too late?

 

 

 

 

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Pawnbroker by Jerry Hatchett

Publication Date: October 4, 2012

 

Pawnbroker by Jerry HatchettIn Pawnbroker by Jerry Hatchett, Gary Bolton is a family man and pawnbroker. When he kills an armed robber, the repercussions are not what Gary might have thought they would be. Suddenly he’s the focus of some very bad people who will do anything to get what they want.

 

 

 

 

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The Clock of Life by Nancy Klann-Moren

Publication Date: November 12, 2012

 

The Clock of Life by Nancy Klann-MorenThe Clock of Life by Nancy Klann-Moren is a coming-of-age story that takes place in the 1970s and 1980s. Jason Lee Rainey’s father was a hero. The senior Rainey was a man who strongly believed in the Civil Rights movement and fought in Vietnam. He died when young Jason Lee was only eight months old. Living in Hadlee, Mississippi with his mother and uncle, Jason Lee must decide despite the anti-black sentiment that lingers if he will pursue a friendship with Samson Johnson. When he meets him at the school the first day, Samson bears the taunts and beatings from the other white children. Over time, Jason Lee learns more about his father, Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement and also that sometimes you have to work to make your world a better place.

 

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Such Is Life by Jeri Walker-Bickett

Publication Date: January 29, 2013

 

Such Is Life by Jeri Walker-BickettSuch a Life by Jeri Walker-Bickett contains five short stories exploring varied aspects of modern life. In Pretty Girl, a young girl meets up with a Carny Worker and in For the Love of Dog, a woman’s connection with her dog proves stronger than any bond of moral code.

 

 

 

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Have No Shame by Melissa Foster

Publication Date: May 6, 2013

 

MF_Have_no_shameAllison Tillman finds the body of a black man while out for a walk. Even for the late 60s, Forrest Town, Arkansas is behind the times when it comes to the Civil Rights Movement and Allison knows that his death happened at the hands of white men from her town. Finding the body changes her life and causes her to look at people and events around her in a new way. She can no longer live with the way blacks are treated as lesser, disposable beings. Allison’s difficulty is that she’s engaged to a man who makes a sport out of beating people simply based on the color of their skin. Her much beloved Daddy, who she’d never want to disappoint, tells her to know her place. Her sister didn’t know her place and was sent to New York. Will Allison keep her feelings inside as her mother has or will she speak out like her sister, Maggie? Will she marry Jimmy Lee and what about Jackson Johns, the young black officer who fills in for his brother on the Tillman farm to whom she feels an undeniable attraction?

 

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