Category Archives: Liam and Catherine Series

October 3, 2018 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Girl from Berlin by Ronald H. Balson

Title: The Girl from Berlin by Ronald H. Balson
Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart Series Book Five
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Historical (WW II), Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In the newest novel from internationally-bestselling author Ronald. H. Balson, Liam and Catherine come to the aid of an old friend and are drawn into a property dispute in Tuscany that unearths long-buried secrets

An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the Tuscan hills by a powerful corporation claiming they own the deeds, even though she can produce her own set of deeds to her land. Catherine and Liam’s only clue is a bound handwritten manuscript, entirely in German, and hidden in its pages is a story long-forgotten…

Ada Baumgarten was born in Berlin in 1918, at the end of the war. The daughter of an accomplished first-chair violinist in the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, and herself a violin prodigy, Ada’s life was full of the rich culture of Berlin’s interwar society. She formed a deep attachment to her childhood friend Kurt, but they were torn apart by the growing unrest as her Jewish family came under suspicion. As the tides of history turned, it was her extraordinary talent that would carry her through an unraveling society turned to war, and make her a target even as it saved her, allowing her to move to Bologna—though Italy was not the haven her family had hoped, and further heartache awaited.

What became of Ada? How is she connected to the conflicting land deeds of a small Italian villa? As they dig through the layers of lies, corruption, and human evil, Catherine and Liam uncover an unfinished story of heart, redemption, and hope—the ending of which is yet to be written.

Don’t miss Liam and Catherine’s lastest adventures in The Girl from Berlin!

Review:

The Girl from Berlin by Ronald H. Balson is an engaging novel that weaves seamlessly back and forth in time. The events playing out in the present are directly linked to a young woman’s experiences during World War II and both story arcs are fascinating. Although this latest release is the fifth installment in the Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart series, it can be read as a standalone.

Gabriella “Gabi” Vincenzo has lived more than seventy years on her family’s vineyard in the Italian countryside. When a lawyer representing VinCo, the corporation which owns the land around her, hands her an eviction notice, Gabi’s nephew, Tony, who lives in the United States, asks his good friend, private investigator Liam Taggert for help.  Liam, along with his attorney wife, Catherine Lockhart, agree to look into the case, but they are uncertain whether they can stop the eviction. Catherine immediately begins reading the engrossing  manuscript Gabi sent to them. However, she is unsure what clues she will find in this heartwrenching memoir written by Ada Baumgarten, a Jewish violinist who lived in Nazi Germany before and during World War II.

Ada’s story details her life in Berlin both before and after Hitler’s rise to power. Her father is a concertmaster and violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic and he is delighted with his daughter’s impressive talent.  Ada is a gifted violinist whose friendship with fellow violinist Kurt Koenig comes to a poignant end when his father forces him to join Hitler Youth. However, their lives remain intertwined despite the fact Ada is Jewish and Kurt is conscripted into military service.  For much of the time before and during World War II, the Baumgarten family is protected by an acquaintance with powerful connections. When Hitler begins sending Jews to concentration camps, Ada and her mother go to Italy, but their future remains tenuous due to Mussolini’s alliance with Hitler.

Catherine and Liam must figure out how Ada’s history ties into Gabi’s predicament with VinCo. Their efforts to find answers are stymied by the powerful corporation, lost records and a dishonest lawyer. Aiding them in their quest is Italian lawyer Giulia Romano. Their discoveries take them back to Germany where a German lawyer assists them in uncovering the horrifying truth about Gabi’s parcel of land and the company trying to wrest it from her.

The Girl from Berlin is an utterly captivating novel that is rife with  historical details. Ada is a vibrantly developed character and her experiences in Nazi Germany are heartrending. Some of her family’s decisions are inexplicable as Hitler’s policies regarding Jews grow more threatening over time. Liam and Catherine’s investigation in the present is quite compelling and the information they uncover is rather chilling. This newest addition to Ronald H. Balson’s  Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart series is another well-researched novel that is as informative as it is interesting. I truly enjoyed this outstanding novel and I highly recommend it to readers of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Fiction, Historical, Historical (20s), Historical (30s), Historical (40s), Liam and Catherine Series, Rated B, Review, St Martin's Press, The Girl from Berlin

September 17, 2017 · 11:57 pm

Review: The Trust by Ronald H. Balson

Title: The Trust by Ronald H. Balson
Liam and Catherine Series Book Four
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 367 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The newest novel from Ronald H. Balson, the international bestselling author of Once We Were Brothers, finds private investigator Liam Taggart returning to his childhood home for an uncle’s funeral, only to discover his death might not have been natural.

When his uncle dies, Liam Taggart reluctantly returns to his childhood home in Northern Ireland for the funeral—a home he left years ago after a bitter confrontation with his family, never to look back. But when he arrives, Liam learns that not only was his uncle shot to death, but that he’d anticipated his own murder: In an astonishing last will and testament, Uncle Fergus has left his entire estate to a secret trust, directing that no distributions be made to any person until the killer is found. Did Fergus know, but refuse to name, his killer? Was this a crime of revenge, a vendetta leftover from Northern Ireland’s bloody sectarian war? After all, the Taggarts were deeply involved in the IRA. Or is it possible that the killer is a family member seeking Fergus’s estate? Otherwise, why postpone distributions to the heirs? Most menacingly, does the killer now have his sights on other family members?

As his investigation draws Liam farther and farther into the past he has abandoned, he realizes he is forced to reopen doors long ago shut and locked. Now, accepting the appointment as sole trustee of the Fergus Taggart Trust, Liam realizes he has stepped into the center of a firestorm.

Review:

As with previous novels written by Ronald H. Balson, his newest mystery, The Trust, is well-researched and historically accurate. Set in Ireland, the Taggart family and its history with the IRA are under the microscope after Liam’s estranged Uncle Fergus dies under mysterious circumstances.

Although Liam is conflicted about his cousin Janie’s request that he attend his uncle’s funeral, his wife Catherine easily him to make the trip.  He is stunned to discover that Fergus made him the executor of his estate which has been placed into a trust. Equally shocking are the terms of the will and Liam finds himself on the opposite side of his cousins Conor and Riley as they attempt to remove him as the trust administrator. In between the legal maneuvering, Liam teams up with the police inspector assigned to the case to try to solve his uncle’s murder.

Liam is quite upset that he never made the effort to mend the sixteen year rift with Fergus and he is utterly confused about his uncle’s conviction that he is the only person he can trust to carry out his wishes. The terms of the will are clear but unfortunately, everything about the last few months of his uncle’s life is rather murky. Liam quickly discovers Fergus was convinced someone was going to kill him, but he was deliberately vague about who the killer might be or why he might targeted.  Liam’s family is certain his murder is a vendetta from forty years earlier, but local police Inspector Farrell McLaughlin is equally convinced the killer is most likely related to Fergus.

The investigation is slow moving and Liam also must contend with inner family squabbles, overt threats and memories of his distant past. He vacillates back and forth between abdicating his responsibilities and returning home, but his remorse over his role in the longstanding estrangement is a powerful inducement to carry out Fergus’s last wishes. He is also a bit angst-ridden over Catherine and their baby’s safety but his wife is equally certain the threats she is receiving are nothing more than a bothersome nuisance. Even when the killer begins targeting other family members, Liam and the police are still unable to discern a motive for the murders and without a motive, it is even more difficult to narrow down the suspect list.

Rich with historical details, The Trust is an intriguing mystery that old and new fans of the Liam and Catherine series will enjoy.  Although the investigation into Fergus’s murder is interesting, readers might a little frustrated with the lack of progress and the narrow focus on a list of very obvious suspects while glaring inconsistencies with other characters are ignored. Catherine is a little blasé about her and their baby’s safety and Liam comes across as rather unfocused as he deals with the emotional aspects of his unexpected family reunion. Despite a few minor irritations with the mystery aspect of the storyline, Ronald H. Balson provides a fascinating look into Ireland’s deeply troubled past between Protestants  and Catholics that still reverberates amongst its citizens today.

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Filed under Contemporary, Liam and Catherine Series, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Ronald H Balson, St Martin's Press, Suspense, The Trust