Other Writing

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

5+ Stars

A LIFE CAME CALLING: A WWII LOVE STORY, by Ann Howard Creel, is a love story set in both Philadelphia and the Smoky Mountain region of Tennessee at the close of WWII. Due to be released on August 18, 2025, this novel tells the story of Janey Nichol, a young woman ‘past her prime’, who suddenly finds herself weighing the proposals of two men: Todd, who’s ambitious, dependable, and rock-solid, and Cole, a now-deceased Naval officer whom she’d...

Reviewed by Rosetta D. Hoessli, Author

***** (Five Stars)


RAG LADY, by Susie Black, is a scream of a book – mostly. Our heroine, Holly Schlivnik, is a 4’9” hot-tempered, slightly pompous, well-educated, wannabe reporter know-it-all who blows her first interview upon college graduation when informed by her prospective boss that she, like all female reporters, must ‘start out in the secretarial pool.’ She explodes in feminist fury and crawls home to her parents and grandmother in Miami, her tail...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

***** (Five Stars)

FROM THE COVER:
Everyone wanted her dead…but who actually killed her? The last thing swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected was to discover ruthless buying office big wig Bunny Frank's corpse trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a bikini stuffed down her throat. When Holly's colleague is arrested for Bunny's murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to find the real killer. Nothing turns out the...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

**** (Four Stars)

Set in the 1870’s, the novella ABANDONED, by Margaret Tanner, accomplishes much in few words. I have to admit, I’m not necessarily a fan of short books, but the premise of this one intrigued me:

With the best intentions of being a loving and obedient wife, Hannah Starr has married Isaac, the son of a cult leader, but discovers within six months that he’s not the man she thought he was. Refusing to give up her strong Christian beliefs...

Book Two of the Snowbound Western Women Series

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

**** (Four Stars)

DESERTED, the second novella in the Snowbound Western Women Series by Margaret Tanner, is similar to the first (ABANDONED, which I recently reviewed) in that it’s also set in the rugged mountains and small towns of Colorado during the 1870’s, but there the similarities pretty much end.

This time Marla, our heroine, who has lived with her selfish, frigid-as-ice aunt since she lost her parents...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author
**** (Four Stars)

Billy Graham once said, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

Many individuals in pre-WWII, WWII, and post-war WWII history illustrate the truth of these words. Think Oskar Schindler who saved more than a thousand Jews, Miep Gies who hid the Otto Frank family and four other desperate Jews for more than two years, Irene Sendler who was a Polish Catholic social worker and her...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

***** (Five Stars)

I have to admit it. I love cozy mysteries, sweet romances, and happy endings. L. B. Griffin, author of SECRETS, SHAME, AND A SHOEBOX (prequel to THE TWENTY-ONE YEAR CONTRACT), has written one of the best.

This novel is deceptively quiet, for lack of a better description - at least in its first several chapters. Ms. Griffin lovingly creates her characters, taking her time to build perfect people with spot-on interactions, and uses them...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli
***** (Five Stars)

I’m giving five stars to her latest novel THE TWENTY-ONE-YEAR CONTRACT (the sequel to SECRETS, SHAME AND A SHOEBOX), in which L.B. Griffin recreates the cultural revolution of the 1950’s and 1960’s right there in England, where it all began. She propagates her seamless yet unpredictable storyline with delightful characters, some who don’t have huge roles but definitely need to be onstage, and two main characters – Kate Westfield and Harriet...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

**** 1/2 (4 1/2 stars)

MURDER AT SEA OATS BEACH, by Karen C. Whalen, is the initial book in her SEA OATS BEACH series. You may remember that I reviewed Ms. Whalen’s second book in this series recently (WASHED UP AT SEA OATS BEACH), and I mentioned that I thought I might have enjoyed it more had I read the opening salvo first – and I was right.

This first book has a simple plot, but I’m an animal lover, so it kept me engrossed from beginning to end. The...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author
**** (Four Stars)

WASHED UP AT SEA OATS BEACH, by Karen C. Whalen, due to be released April 14, 2025, is the second book in her new SEA OATS BEACH SERIES. Although I enjoyed this story a great deal, I believe I should’ve read her first novel of the series, MURDER AT SEA OATS BEACH, first – just to get a better feel for the backstory and supporting characters. So, my lack of connection with some of her ‘people’ may have been due to that.

However, the main...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author

I loved Karen C. Whalen’s characters in her SEA OATS BEACH cozy mystery series: flawed, all-too-human, and totally relatable. As are the wonderfully engaging cast of characters in Whalen’s FEAR IN FIRST GEAR. They drive the story, not the other way around, and that always makes me want to settle in for a nice, long read.

Delaney Morran is a petite, red-haired tow truck driver famous for wearing three-inch stiletto heels whenever she answers a tow call...

Reviewed by Rosetta Diane Hoessli, Author
*****

I’m going to tell you, right out of the chute (as we Texans like to say), that I’m not ordinarily a fan of romance novels and very seldom even pick one up. But I would’ve been missing out on a beautifully written, truly inspirational love story if I hadn’t surrendered to my urge to read CHANCE’S RETURN, by Lucy Naylor Kubash.

Set on the North Star Ranch near the Teton Mountains in Wyoming, CHANCE’S RETURN is a story about second chances for...