The Realtor

I have had this book on my TBR list for almost a year. Finally, I got around to reading it. The main character is Celine Bauman. Celine has a five year old daughter Alyssa who is about to hegin kindergarten. Her job as a real estate agent allows Celine the time to drop Alyssa off at school in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. On the first day of school Celine sees an unkempt woman by a fence. It is Hannah, a wealthy client buying a $400,000 house from her with cash. Celine stands to earn a $24,000 commission on the sale. Hannah's behavior is creepy so Celine talks to her best friend Jill almost daily about her. While at the school, an old friend tells Celine that her old boyfriend Brad Dowling has woken up from a five year coma. This news sends Celine spinning. The next day she receives a text stating "I know what you did. Murderer." From here the plot takes off. 

The story was riveting. I could not stop reading as each chapter ended with suspense. Two friends of Celine were murdered. Both of these ladies had dated Brad. Rosalie Phillips had killed herself but a few of the officers in the local police department believed otherwise. Then, Teryn Holmes, a nurse at the hospital where Brad is a patient is found dead. Teryn, was also a former girlfriend of Brad. There were alot of twists in the story and as the plot was winding down, I was excited to find out the whodunnit and the whydunnit. However, the denoument was a bit weird. I was disappointed. 

Note that the book is a revised edition of The Life She Stole. While the book was mainly gripping, because of the ending I have to reduce my rating to 4 out of 5 stars. Parts of the ending were satisfying but other parts were bizarre.

The Hildegard Seeds

I have one additional books to read in Gary McAvoy's Vatican Secret Archives Mystery series. I will then begin reading his Vatican Archaeology series. I have enjoyed every book he has written to date and The Hildegard Seeds is no different. It was awesome. 

The publisher's summary:

When investigative journalist Hana Sinclair uncovers a cryptic reference to an ancient botanical manuscript left to by her late grandfather, she unravels a thread tied to Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th-century abbess, healer, and mystic. Her findings reveal that Hildegard’s work holds more than historical value—it may conceal the key to curing some of humanity’s most devastating diseases. But someone is determined to ensure her secrets stay buried.

As Hana teams up with Father Michael Dominic, prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, and Marcus Russo, a Vatican archaeologist, they discover that a powerful biotech corporation, Zentara, has been systematically suppressing cancer cures for profit. Zentara’s reach is vast, its operatives ruthless, and its agenda clear: control the narrative of medical progress at any cost.

The team races to uncover and protect Hildegard’s work, their journey taking them from Geneva to Rupertsberg Abbey, where Hildegard lived and worked, to Zentara’s high-tech laboratories. Along the way, they face betrayal, danger, and the weight of their own convictions. For Hana, the fight becomes deeply personal, challenging her notions of justice and the role of science in society.

But when Zentara accelerates its plans and begins human trials with catastrophic consequences, the stakes grow even higher. Can the team expose the corporation’s crimes, safeguard Hildegard’s legacy, and ensure her healing vision is not lost to history?

A gripping tale of courage, faith, and the pursuit of truth, The Hildegard Seeds explores the timeless struggle between greed and the greater good, weaving historical intrigue with modern-day suspense in a story that will resonate long after the final page.

The action in this story began in the first chapter, must sooner than in previous novels which is a good thing.  My interest in the story began quickly as the short chapters brought the suspense level up. It was impossible to put the book down. The vial referenced in the summary above contained a substance that Hildegard's manuscript promised to be able to cure tumors.  A substance that can cure cancer would be coveted by every pharmaceutical company in the world which naturally created danger for Hana and Michael. 

The story contained alot of scientific information concerning botanicals, such as ferns and ricinus aureum as well as the scientific method of isolating the properties of these plants. Ricinus aureum isn't a recognized plant name, but likely refers to ricinus communis, the castor bean plant, known for its stunning foliage (often purplish, hence "aureum" might imply golden/colorful) and highly poisonous seeds, containing the toxin ricin, used medicinally and industrially for castor oil but dangerous if ingested. In this novel the ricinum aureum plant is referred to as a "golden castor, " so I assume we are referring to the same plant.

Also, the story includes Hildegard’s mystical language Lingua Ignota (Latin for "unknown language") which consists of 23 letters and a vocabulary with no known grammar. The only known text are individual words embedded in Latin. To write it, Hildegard used denominated litterae ignotae (Latin for "unknown letters"). It was pretty cool to see how Father Michael Dominic deciphered it. The story also contained several of the riddles in Hildegard’s writings that Hana and Michael had to decipher making this book a first rate mystery.

As I usually do when reading McAvoy's novels, I stopped reading in the middle of the book to check Wikipedia in order to determine what is true in the story and what isn't. While I know that I will find this info at the end of the story, I am too impatient to wait.

This installment of the series may be the best. The plot is more intricate and together with all the science behind Hildegard’s ideas, I was fascinated with the story. The twists and turns are ramped up and Hana and Michael find their lives in mortal danger multiple times. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars. 

A Killer in the Family

I received a free copy of this book from Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club in exchange for an honest review. The book got lost during my move and I recently came across it. It's an intoxicating drama about South East India immigrants to the U.S. and their life in New York City.

The publisher's summary:

It’s time for Ali, a good-natured Mumbai party-boy, to grow up. The first step to settling down is an arranged marriage to Maryam, the daughter of Abbas Khan, a New York real estate tycoon. She’s pretty, demure, and respectable—unlike her sister, Farhan, a sexy, rebellious divorcée.

After the wedding, Ali moves to New York and enjoys the privileges of being an honorary Khan: private helicopters, supertall skyscrapers, and a Gatsbyesque house in the Hamptons. But soon rumors begin to surface about Abbas Khan—accusations of corruption and hidden affairs—and Farhan hints that a violent secret underlies Abbas's success. Though Ali's wife insists the insinuations are unfounded, he can't shake the feeling that there's something he doesn't know.

To uncover the truth, Ali launches his own investigation, which takes him deep into Abbas’s dealings and past. As he closes in on the truth, Ali must decide: Can he remain part of the Khan family, and pay the moral price demanded by unimaginable wealth and power?

A Killer in the Family is quite the page turner. The suspense was built up slowly and there were many twists. I was confused throughout the story as to the identity of the villain. It seemed that every character could have been the primary villain but when the real one was revealed in the last chapter I was stunned.

This is a character driven story. All of them are complex and make the book irresistible. Ali's failure to launch and uncertainty about everything in life have handicapped his career moves. He is meek. His doctor wife, however, turns out to be ruthless in her maneuvering to gain control of the Khan family business. I didn't see this coming but should have given her devotion to her job in a hospital. Maryam hides underneath a patina of politeness though. Her sister Farhan is the typical drug addled person who has been unstable her entire life. In this respect she is like Ali which is probably why they had a lengthy affair. Ali's father in law is the consummate tycoon. He is always working and has been rewarded with riches the rest of us can only dream of. 

The murders are first mentioned at the 100 page mark. It was hard to determine how they were related to the Khan family or their employees. Around the 70% mark of the plot the possible killers were fleshed out. The big reveal was not too exciting. What was exciting was the evolution of the characters. 

The glittery setting of New York City's wealthy homes and lifestyles was enticing. I really wanted to have those big homes, expensive artworks, to eat at those restaurants and have the power to change people's lives for better or worse. Sadly, I am a poor blogger. 

A Killer in the Family is an intriguing read. I highly recommend it to mystery lovers. 5 out of 5 stars.

2026 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

It's time once again to sign up for the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge. The Escape With Dollycas blog is hosting the challenge. The rules are easy to follow:

1. This challenge will run from January 1, 2026, until December 31, 2026.

2. You can join anytime. You do not have to post a review of the book. Books can come from any genre.

3. Children's Books and Novellas are acceptable, but they need to be over 50 Pages. 

4. You do not need to link up each spoonful.

5. Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged! 

6. The challenge is to read one book with a title that starts with every letter of the alphabet. You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles as shown below. The first main word needs to be the letter you are counting; except for Q, X, AND Z titles, then the word that starts with the challenge letter can be the first letter of any word in the title. Book titles starting with EX can be used for the X prompt.

7. There are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z Reading Challenge.

A - Make a list from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

OR

B - Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet, and check them off as you read them. 

For example:

 A -Anatomy of an Alibi: A Novel by Ashley Elston

8. As requested, the 2026 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge has been added to Storygraph as another way to keep track of your reads.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/6cf5d67b-ad85-4139-ba04-801b20bd648c

9. Books can be read in any order and all formats – print – e-book – and audio – are acceptable for this challenge!

10. Bloggers can grab the image above and make a post about the challenge to encourage others to join!

11. Non-bloggers you can join too! Just keep track any way you wish. You can even set up a special shelf on Goodreads to help you keep track! 

12. If you post about your books on Social Media, please use this hashtag #AlphabetSoupChallenge

13. Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book, as there may be special announcements made about the challenge.

14. There is also a very active group on Facebook where you can share your books read and converse with others taking part in the challenge. 

15. To sign up, use Google Forms. Sign Up Here.