Check it out!! My Sophie Collins Mystery Series books “The Red Coat” and “The Secret of Trail House Lodge” have both received the Gold Bookworm Award from Reader’s Review Room.

SPECIAL: Starting February 1 through February 8, 2018, on Amazon only both books will be 99¢ each. Here’s your chance to get both books at a super-low price for a limited time.

“The Red Coat”
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Short reads – 90 minutes or less, Teen Turf, Young Adult Novels

“The Secret of Trail House Lodge”  ”
Genres: Medium-length reads – 90 minutes to 4 hours, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Teen Turf, Young Adult Novels

What caught my eye first about this book is the spooky house on the cover. It made me shiver with anticipation of a good mystery, reminiscent of days gone by of reading late into the night under the covers with a flashlight. Second, I loved Sophie. She’s a hard-headed, spunky, full of mischief teenager, a girl who is curious and loves figuring things out. She’s even in a club with three of her friends, the Junior Detective Group. She often relies on her ‘mystery gauge’ for clues and according to Sophie, her mystery gauge is never wrong.

During a romp in an old deserted lodge, Sophie and her friends find a mummified body, footprints in the dust, and other items intensifying the mystery of what happened. There are subplots to follow throughout the book: What is the role of the old lodge’s caretaker and what was he searching for? Why did creepy Uncle Titus, her deceased grandfather’s brother, suddenly show up at Morsey Manor, asking questions and insisting that he become her guardian? What is the significance of the items in the safety deposit box? These questions and more led to a good read.

There are different points of view within a few paragraphs of each other and that was a bit jarring, but the author made it clear who was thinking what and it didn’t deter from the storyline. I wish Sophie’s three friends had more personality, because for being teenagers, they seemed flat. However, I liked the characters of Grayson the butler and Millie the cook, and the role of Grayson to Sophie. Grayson is trying his best to teach Sophie manners so she can live up to the reputation of being Hustus Morsey’s granddaughter, but she is a relunctant student, with a mind of her own.

Don’t let the category of children’s books scare you off from reading this mystery. I would say it’s more of a Teens & Young Adult category. I can see Author Gressley collecting a fan base that will follow Sophie and her Junior Detective Group, and look forward to seeing more books in this series.

Inescapable ~ Remembering has just received another 5 Star review from Reader’s Favorite.

If there is anything I love better than the movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson, it is the second book in this thrilling series: Inescapable — Remembering by Madge H Gressley. A beautiful woman, Darcey Callahan, sets out to locate her missing boyfriend, driving from Texas to Peru. But she has an accident on the way, which leaves her devoid of memory, but in the hands of a drug trafficking ring. She is in a bio dome, located five miles beneath the ocean. Brad, her boyfriend, rescues her. But can she trust Brad? How does she know that everything Brad tells her is true? And can Brad keep her safe from a more dangerous enemy?

This is a story laced with intrigue and deeply moving scenes. Madge H Gressley has a wonderful gift for character and plot, and she begins her story with a powerful premise: a woman having an accident and waking up sold, but what makes it even more complicated is that she has lost her memory, so how can she reconnect with her past and identity? The idea of a dome in the depths of the sea is appealing as well. The suspense begins from the moment readers encounter the protagonist and they begin to feel for her, wanting to find out if she can recall who she is and still accept Brad as her boyfriend. There are many plot twists that will entice readers. The narrative is awesome, done in a voice that is strong and steady. The writing is captivating and readers will fall for the characters as they relate with others and work through dramatic conflicts. Inescapable — Remembering is a gorgeous read, as suspenseful as it is entertaining.

Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers’ Favorite