Review: Handle with Care

Handle with Care by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
My rating: 💛💛💛

Handle with care started out with a suspenseful moment with a fragile broken man whose life intertwined with four ladies who all had their own struggles and issues and past who brought them to this moment.

There were suspenseful moments where you were not sure if something bad was going to happen, and some glimpses of heartbreaking moments and an understanding of where everything went wrong for Jason.

For each character - there was some closure, reconciliation of relationships and a better understanding of what the heart truly wanted.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.*


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About the book:

Three women walk into a post office. No, this isn't the beginning of a joke. It's the beginning of a hostage situation.

On an ordinary spring afternoon in a small-town post office, a domestic dispute spirals out of control. The husband pulls a gun and barricades himself inside with four hostages--his wife, a young woman searching for her purpose in this world, a midlife mom facing her only daughter's graduation and imminent departure, and an elderly woman hiding a secret about her life at home. Outside, even the negotiator is forced to put aside her own personal baggage in order to find a peaceful resolution to a volatile situation . . . using exclusively words.

Each of the three women who walked into the post office is carrying something that, if mailed, would profoundly change her life. Through the course of the daylong siege, these strangers will forge unforeseen bonds and reveal things to each other they haven't even told those closest to them. And none of them will ever be the same.

About the author:

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is the author of When We Were Worthy, The Things We Wish Were True and

five previous novels. She speaks to women's groups around the US. She is the co-founder of the popular women's fiction site, She Reads www.shereads.org. Marybeth and her husband Curt have been married for 26 years and are the parents of six children. The family lives in North Carolina. Marybeth spends most of her time in the grocery store but occasionally escapes long enough to scribble some words. She is always at work on her next novel. You can find her at www.marybethwhalen.com.

Review: Witness Protection

Witness Protection by Robert Whitlow
My rating: 💛💛💛

Witness Protection was the perfect balance between legal procedures and suspense with the cartel plot and the spiritual wisdom from Aunt Carly.

Jon’s struggle to assist with his employee’s case with his shared experience while still trying to keep his past hidden caused for some frustrations, especially with Kelli who couldn’t understand his meddling.

The plot of the drugs, cartel and FBI added to suspense, since you did not know who to trust, what is going to happen and how everything will unfold. The legal details were also just added just at the correct moments, with not too much and not too little.

I loved how Aunt Carly impacted Max and Emma’s everyday life and how she made God and prayer life just a normal part of her day. I loved how Emma and Max understood the power of prayer and how they also started for things they were worried about, struggled with or just for others.

Another great legal suspense similar to John Grisham, but with an added layer of spiritual depth.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.*


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About the book:

In seeking to help an employee charged with drug smuggling, a man in the federal witness protection program is drawn back into the criminal world he thought he'd left behind.

While in his early twenties, Jason Favreau went to work in the accounting department for a company he thought was in the import/export business. He was partly right. It was a front company for a cartel smuggling drugs into the US. Once he becomes aware of the illegal operation, he doesn't quit--he's making a lot of money and participates at various levels. When the cartel is raided, Jason is arrested and agrees to testify for the government. In return, Jason is ultimately placed in the Witness Protection Program, relocated to southeast Georgia, and given the name Jon Tremaine. He goes to work for a large commercial tree farm, and after eighteen years he is the manager of the operation. One of his employees, Pablo Mendez, has a side hustle importing exotic chocolate from his home village in Mexico for sale to high-end restaurants. But when one of his pallets of chocolate is seized at the port of Brunswick, drugs are found, and Pablo is arrested.

Jon helps Pablo hire Kelli Jackson, a former US Attorney in Atlanta who has moved to Brunswick with her two children after a divorce from her unfaithful husband. Kelli takes a job with a law school friend who has a growing practice in Brunswick. Based on her prior criminal law experience, Kelli agrees to represent Pablo. As the case is investigated, it becomes clear to Jon that the drug gang operates much like the group he was part of in Louisiana and Texas. Pablo agrees to cooperate with the government in return for dismissal of charges that will otherwise certainly result in a conviction and separate him from his young family for decades.

Life as a defense lawyer is much different from that of a US Attorney, and Kelli struggles to keep up. But as Pablo's case heats up, so do the dangers for all involved. It will take a great deal of courage and legal knowledge to protect Pablo and bring the criminals to justice.

About the author:

Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the prestigious

Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. A Furman University graduate, Whitlow received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. A practicing attorney, Whitlow and his wife, Kathy, have four children. They make their home in North Carolina.