Mona Lisa’s Secret by Phil Philips

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to Mystery Thriller Week and Phil Philips for the opportunity to read and review his book, Mona Lisa’s Secret. The action begins immediately with a supposed attack on the Mona Lisa painting hanging in the Louvre. In 1911, the real Mona Lisa was stolen by Joey Peruggia’s great grandfather, Vincenzo. Joey and his girlfriend, Maria, discover a secret room in the mansion he inherited and, lo and behold, they find the Mona Lisa inside! They plan on returning the original painting to the Louvre, but things quickly get out of hand. Full of action, adventure, twists, surprises and suspense and even allusion to more mystery, which makes this book fun for any mystery and action reader. The author’s descriptions of the France scenery and historical sites made me feel like I was actually there seeing it all in person! This written for adults story is a fairly clean read with a few swear words that are used as dialogue in swear worthy stressful events. I highly recommend this enjoyable mystery by giving it 5 stars!

Configured by Jenetta Penner

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Configured by Jenetta Penner is about Avlyn who lives in an all out dystopian society that does not allow anyone to choose their careers or future spouses, stilts all emotions and will not allow relationships with anyone that you cared about or knew before you became an adult. Avlyn’s twin brother, Ben, died when he was four years old and she doesn’t understand why. She misses him daily and wants to know what happened to cause his death. Anytime she asks questions about Ben, her foster parents become angry and tell her to not cause problems for the two of them. They do not seem to care about Avlyn at all, once they have completed their duty of raising her. Avlyn is asked to join a rebellion and actually feels like she has been pushed into it at the beginning. She eventually sees more of what is happening in her society and begins to understand that a rebellion is necessary. Configured is a science fiction, action-adventure in a dystopian society with an intense rebellion in the making – 4 stars for originality!