THE CLEANER by Elisabeth Herrmann Cold War #Thriller #Spy #BookReview @bonnier_publish

The Cleaner by Elisabeth Herrmann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Cleaner is a Cold War thriller set in Germany. It opens with a scene from a children’s home in 1985, in East Germany, a new child is brought in, an old one disappears, and it’s safer not to ask any questions.

The story then jumps forward, the Berlin Wall has come down. Judith Kepler is a grown women, a loner, she has struggled for years. Now she has some stability in her life. She works as a cleaner, one who cleans a place after a death has occurred. Sent to the home of a murder victim, Judith has a huge job on her hands, but more shocking is the discovery of a letter with her own name and details of her time at the children’s home.

Quirin Kaiserley is an intelligence expert, he’s always hunting answers over a secret agent plot which went wrong back in 1985. Recently approached by a women claiming to hold the lost evidence from the failed plot, he is ready to expose all on a popular TV talk show. However the women fails to turn up at the studios.

Judith takes her questions about the past to Kaiserley, but they are waking some dangerous players who thought the past was dead and buried.

This is a chilling story with lots of twists and turns, people with several aliases and demons from the past to dig up. The Cold War, spies, agents and double agents, mixed with the German and Swedish backdrop make it an enjoyable read.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Good Deeds Week April 6th – 12th

Welcome to my weekly roundup of my year long challenge to do one Good deed a day for a year. This challenge began back in April 2013 and is still going strong, I’m now entering my final two weeks. My inspiration came from reading “A Year of Doing Good” by Judith O’Reilly. Here is what I’ve been up to this week.

April 6th – Began my day with a re-cap of the A to Z tour so far, it’s good to try and keep the momentum going for up coming authors and I’ve sent out e-mails to all those who have a post next week to ask them to get all their faithful followers to help us share the posts. I’ve really enjoyed going to the sites of bloggers that I added to my posts who were also on the tour, people I wouldn’t usually meet on my day to day blog.

Have begun reading a modern classic Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada, it’s set during the war and so far it’s about the people, individuals caught in the umbrella of Germany and how some of them wish to remain individuals who work and think for themselves.

Found out some information for my brother-in-law to help him with some farming forms that he must fill in and passed on the info.

April 7th – It’s the school Easter holidays so I need to find a different Good Deed to my normal Monday morning volunteering. Was able to pick up a large bag of potatoes from the farm when I went to pick up some work for tomorrow, have just delivered them to my friend’s house for her.

April 8th – The sun is shining, I’ve been out to mow the lawn for the first time this year, mowed the piece I share with my neighbour, swept up behind me and picked up some litter that was blowing around. Good Deeds received, whilst I went out to work this morning my lovely children cleaned my house and put the washing out to dry, such a great thing to come home to.

Spent the evening visiting loads of bloggers taking part in the A to Z challenge in what felt like a blogathon of it’s own.

April 9th – Still busy visiting other bloggers on the A to Z Challenge. Had time to pick up some litter which had blown my way when I went out to my car.

April 10th – A lovely day and we headed for the park for some cricket practise, whilst there we found a good condition cricket ball whilst hunting through the undergrowth for our own ball, we picked up a base cone left by others and put it to good use, and we picked up some litter and popped it in the bin to leave the park looking lovely for other users.

April 11th – Agreed to read and review Johnny Nothing by Ian Probert, look out for it’s review on my blog in the back end of May. Still working my way around the A to Z tour, there are so many people blogging about so many different things, amazing!

April 12th – Went to work this morning on a non work day, to catch up on lots of filing. I’ve been itching to give the place a good clean (we work in an old Granary, think barn with dirt and dust and untidy farmers!) So I attacked the place with duster and brush creating clouds of dust (cough, cough) and I filled the rubbish bins, I live far enough away that I can’t hear them shouting about my housework, but I left the bins incase they need to retrieve anything. I’ll empty them next week!

Have been talking to author Lizzie Lamb (Letter B for Boot Camp Bride on the A to Z Tour) about reading and reviewing some of her work and perhaps being a guest on her blog after the A to Z tour has finished.

One last SUPER DOOPER deed today, I’ve just posted about Operation Mallory, a group of very kind people have been working behind the scenes to re-launch books my author Stephen C Spencer who has cancer. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go to my post read it, share it and if possible get involved with the promotion of his books. You never know what the future holds and one day it might be you in need. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-55W

Romancing September author Ana Calin (Day 25)

It is Day 25 of our Romancing September Across the World Tour, and today we are going to meet Ana Calin and her book “The Blacksmith”. Then you can cross to Georgia in a few hours and read her views on writing romance in today’s society with Stephanie.

Let us find out more about Ana;

1) Where is your home town?

My hometown is Constanta, Romania. (I’ve been living in Germany for four years. Constanta is yet the place where the story unfolds).

2) How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing fiction for one year but researching for two (needed the research as background for what is happening with the ‘superior beings’ in the story). (Technically, I’ve been writing for over ten years since I was an English major in college and Creative Writing was a must. After I graduated I started working as a translator and writer for web sites)

3) Has your writing always included an aspect of romance?

The Blacksmith is my first novel. Romance is its central point and will remain so in the following novels as well.

4) “The Blacksmith” is a romantic thriller, where did the idea for the story come from?

The idea for “The Blacksmith” came from observation and a lot of psychology reading. Observing that many couples who’ve been together for over seven years become disappointed and start chasing the new, often even leaving their partners for a fresh start, I became obsessive on getting to the bottom of happiness through love: should one challenge the old and established for one’s dream? Or should one fight to reignite the fire of infatuation in a long time relationship?

5) The character known as “The Blacksmith” is an unknown murderer. Does his name have a significance?

The meaning behind the Blacksmith’s alias is even more important to the story than his identity. He is  a superhuman whose main purpose resonates with his alias.

6) How does the romance evolve? Does Aurelia become obsessed?

Aurelia first becomes obsessed with discovering who the Blacksmith is. What she doesn’t expect is that she’ll fall in love with him so deeply.

7) What happened to Aurelia’s husband?

Aurelia’s husband, Damian, is present throughout the story just like the boy she secretly desires, Ivan. One of these two men IS the Blacksmith.

8) What does Aurelia have to do to find the answers she needs?

Since she is the one to discover the first victim, Aurelia feels compelled to find out who the villain is. Having no reason to trust what she’s certain are corrupt policemen, she will start an investigation of her own, aided by an attorney, a psychiatrist and a biochemist. She will discover that the one she chases is no common man and she’ll go unveiling secret powers buried in her own psyche.

9) Does “The Blacksmith” have an equal love for Aurelia?

We don’t find out how the Blacksmith truly feels for Aura until the last chapters. He might be madly in love with her or long to kill her in the cruellest way.

10) Are you working on a sequel to this book? Or do you have another book that you are writing?

I’m currently working on a sequel, “Cries of the Blood”. I’ve started posting the chapters on my blog, www.anaatcalin.com. Of course, I’m avoiding spoilers for The Blacksmith. When the book is finished the chapters will be cut to trailers.

NOTE: the book contains some measure of erotica (not going overboard though), so it is recommendable for mature audiences.

To find a copy of “The Blacksmith” follow these links to Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com or Amazon.de

Thank you Ana for being our guest today and Good Luck with the new book. Now step over to http://stephanie-hurt.com for the rest of Ana’s interview.

“E” on the AtoZ Challenge

The letter “E” brings us a book written by Brianna McKenzie, Brianna was recently a guest author on the blog http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-l0

Brianna gives us some inside information about her book;

I’d like to tell you a secret about “Enchanted Heart”. This book is very dear to me because, as a child, one of my favourite places to visit was the Enchanted Rock. This pervasive pink, round rock juts out over the landscape of Texas near Fredericksburg. When we were little, we would climb to the top of the rock, shout into the canyon below, and then listen to the chasm yell back at us. I wanted to introduce this same childlike enchantment into one of my books but the perfect story never came to me. But then one night, I had a dream where
nearly the entire story unfolded before me. And one of the scenes was Marty and Caid professing their love for each other on top of the Enchanted Rock. This heart-warming story follows Marty and her twin sister Greta from their native country of Germany to central Texas while tragedy and misery shadow them until Fate brings hope to their Enchanted

Hearts. Links to the book are http://amzn.to/EnchantedHeart_US  and http://amzn.to/EnchantedHeart_UK

After emigrating from Germany at the age of seven, Marty Hirsch watched her father die on the arduous journey from the coast of Texas to the new settlement in New Braunfels. While Papa took his final breath, Marty assured him that she would fulfil the dream of owning the land that had been promised to him by the German Immigrant Society. And while she watched her twin sister Greta and Mama trudging the many miles to their new home, Marty vowed right then and there to bring them happiness, no matter the cost to her own contentment. As time passed, she struggled to fulfil that self-assigned task, but more tragedy assailed her in the form of miscarriages with her husband before he was killed in the Civil War. When their cousin convinced her and Greta to move westward to the new German settlement at Fort Concho on the San Saba River, Marty was ready for a change in her life. That change came when she encountered Aiden Kincaid McAllister, the handsome stranger who guided their wagon train to their new home. She found herself falling hopelessly in love with the dark-haired, blue-eyed stranger. But would that love last or would more tragedies cause Marty to give up on love altogether?

About the Author Brianna Lee McKenzie was born in Corpus Christi, Texas where she spent most of her childhood summers listening to Grandma Ruby tell stories of her adventurous life. Having nomadic parents, she never lived in any particular town for very long. Making friends was difficult in this situation, causing her to, at a young age, retreat into her own little world where the characters that she created were her companions. As she grew, she developed her ability to mentally visualize vivid scenes which she revisited later when she learned to take pen into hand. As an adult, she submitted several examples of her work to publishers, but was disappointed by rejection after rejection. But with encouragement from family and friends, she took that giant leap joining her new family at Fantasy Island Book Publishing. Brianna lives on a yacht on the Chesapeake Bay where she finds inspiration in the magnificent sunsets and the romantic gestures of her husband. Her ultimate goal is to make her family proud of her accomplishments. Selling books is just a blissful bi-product.

Here is what one reader thought about the book;

Enchanted Heart takes you on a really emotional journey from start to finish. The twin’s lives wrap themselves around your heart, and you just have to know what happens to them. Brianna builds up the tension slowly to begin with but little by little she leads you along many paths until you ultimately discover whether Marty and Greta find the peace and happiness they so richly deserve.

Todays randomly chosen links to other AtoZ Bloggers are;

http://tossingitout.blogspot.co.uk/

http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.co.uk/

http://amloki.blogspot.co.uk/

http://kmdlifeisgood.blogspot.co.uk/

http://dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.co.uk/

Progress, progress

Getting down to writing a book has a great sense of achievement for me. Firstly I am loving what I am doing, I get a great buzz from it.
So how are things are going? Well I’m no techno expert which is all part of the challenge. I can’t upload a picture to this blog yet, but I’m determined to get over that hurdle! Last minute details for my characters need adding and a few other touch ups.
Meanwhile I am still a full-time mother, so domestic life must continue. Having decided to stop moaning about the housework because I am the only one who gets upset by either the moaning or the state of the house, I’m breezing through the backlog. Homework and revision still need to be done by the children. Nearly messed up big time when I only remembered on Friday that it was Fathers Day today, but managed to buy a prezzie and card on behalf of the kids. Got home to scan the calender for the next week to make sure I was up to date with everything and realised we had a friend with a birthday on Saturday! No worries! I had a few spare blank cards and a (very expensive) first class stamp, so that disaster was avoided. Checking the number of events written and crossed out for today and realised that it was also our wedding anniversary! Bother, I knew the 17th rang a bell! Oh well, fingers crossed that I can cheekily say the Fathers Day prezzie covered both, and hope hubbie hadn’t got me much.
Playground parent: This is where I’ll do my piece about school, education etc. So this week there is the issue of government proposals to re-form pre-school education. Reports are out from academics in Regensburg University, Germany and their fellows from Otago University, New Zealand, about childrens performance in school. They have compared hundreds of children who began school at different ages and compared their abilities. Children who started school at age 7 performed just as well as those who started school at 5, and some out-shone their peers!
This is timely when our own government wants to put more emphasis on the 3R’s at an earlier age, and wishes to set targets for children to achieve before their 5th birthday.
What do you think? is there too much pressure on our children?
Lastly; Bringing it all back to reality in the playground: M&S had 20% off all school uniform when I was there on Friday. Look out for more bargains as other stores want your business too.