Publisher:  RidgeRoute Press (November 17, 2014)
Category: International Suspense, Mystery/Thriller
ISBN: 9780991401734
Tour Date: January/February, 2015
Available in: Print & ebook, 314 Pages

A friend’s deception. A family’s dilemma.

While cataloguing looted antiquities in Brussels, archaeologist Grace Madison discovers that her daughter has vanished in France, and her son’s bride has been attacked in Switzerland. After the Madisons unearth a relic whose taproot pierces the Ancient Near East, they realize that before they can save themselves, they must rescue an old friend. If he’ll let them. 

They sacrifice hearts and lives in a race against eternity on a four-thousand-year-old trail crossing three continents.

Because choosing what’s right is all that’s left.

About NLB Horton:

Winner of  ‘A People’s Chioce Award’ in fiction, NLB Horton returned to writing fiction after an award-winning career in journalism and marketing as well as earning her Masters of Biblical Studies degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. She has surveyed Israeli and Jordanian archaeological digs, tossed a tarantula from her skiff into the Amazon after training with an Incan shaman, driven uneventfully through Rome, and consumed gallons of afternoon tea while traveling across five continents.

 Horton is a member of the venerable Explorers Club, based in New York City and founded in 1904 as an international multidisciplinary professional society of explorers and scientists. From her home in the Rocky Mountains, she writes, cross-country skis, gardens and researches ideas for her next novel. Horton’s first novel in the Parched series, When Camels Fly, was released in May 2014.  The Brothers’ Keepers is the second, with the third installment available in fall 2015.

Website: http://www.nlbhorton.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NLB-Horton/289059931145461
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NLBHorton
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nlbhorton/
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121286.N_L_B_Horton

Please Welcome NLB Horton to Teddy Rose Book Reviews.

Guest Post:

I’ll Have One of Each, Please

Some bloggers have a single preference, like a nephew who only orders ice cream sundaes for dessert. They read Amish, or romance, or Amish romance, for instance. Others devour a smorgasbord of genres. Because I research each blog that presents my work, I discovered that Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus covers a bit of everything, which reminds me of my characters.

When Camels Fly and The Brothers’ Keepers, books 1 and 2 in the Parched series, are populated by young and old, male and female, good and evil. Why limit a reader to one character when I can offer a variety? Care for a ponytailed octogenarian antiques dealer wearing a vintage leather bomber jacket? Perhaps you’d like a scoop of redheaded Scot with evil intentions as she awaits the clan fortune?

To tempt you like a well-stocked dessert cart, scan my menu of characters from both books. Their dialogue and antics are invading books 3 now, and I, with my readers, can’t wait to discover what is in store for each of them.

The Good

Grace Madison, archaeologist—Grace is a cheese plate. She is a little unusual, occasionally salty, and punctuated by the sweetness of chutney on the side. (Of course, chutney contains vinegar.) Grace is classic and global, the choice of a discerning diner.

Maggie Madison, hydrologist—Maggie is an after-dinner coffee laced with Frangelico, the hazelnut liqueur. She is strong, complex, and powerful. She also keeps her mother, Grace, awake at night with worry.

Mark and Jeff Madison—The menfolk in Grace’s life are as all-American as apple pie, with a twist. Mark is a rancher by inheritance, but his covert work surprises Grace in When Camels Fly, and they are rebuilding a thirty-year marriage in as many pieces as there are apple slices in the pie. Jeff, a BBC war correspondent with a gift for weird languages, has a more cosmopolitan air, so I suggest he is the French apple pie: tarte tatin.

The Elderly Archaeologists—These robust fellows would be a pecan pie: sweet and nutty. A couple of them might veer toward the Middle-Eastern version of the dessert, baklava, since they have spent so much time digging in that region. Like a good crust, they are getting a little thin and fragile, but their age does not diminish the goodness inside. And like the many layers of pastry hidden in baklava, these gentlemen have secrets that readers discover in every manuscript.

The Bad

Al-Jafar—An antagonist from When Camels Fly, al-Jafar is Turkish Delight. He is gooey, sticky, and sickeningly sweet, and can be purchased in every market and bazaar in the Middle East. When challenged or frightened, he melts under heat and pressure. He is an acquired taste that some people never acquire.

Laura Frasier—Laura is Sticky Toffee Pudding. She is dense with intrigue and saturated with evil like the bourbon sauce absorbed by hot dessert. Too much of her will make a reader sick, and she appears to be everywhere at once. She is also rich and dark. Her character is complex and difficult to digest, much like that first mouthful in which you can’t quite discern the secret ingredient: dates.

The Handsome

Two young men vie for Maggie’s heart. One is American archaeologist Cliff Anderson, Grace’s graduate assistant now running the dig at Kinneret above the Sea of Galilee. The other is Matthew Peter, a sayan for Mossad with a tragic past.

Cliff Anderson—Cliff is homemade vanilla ice cream. Everybody loves him, he is a favorite, and he goes with everything. He is not terribly complicated, but brings a smile to a diner’s (or reader’s) face. He is yummy and timeless. What you see is what you get with Cliff.

The author sipping a cappuccino after another fig gelato in Venice.

Matthew Peter—Matthew is gelato, the Italian ice cream. He pops up everywhere, and in some of the strangest places (like the little gelato stores in alleyways all over Venice).  He is addictive and hard to resist (like the fig gelato in Venice). And he has a dark streak (like the fig swirl in the fig gelato in Venice).

The Rest

An Orthodox Abba (an almond cookie), a Mossad commander (a shot of whiskey), and a Vatican priest (tiramisu) also appear in the books, and they form a selection guaranteed to appeal to almost any reader. They are organic, handcrafted, and contain no unnatural ingredients. (My work is a vampire-free zone.) And most importantly, none contain saccharine: they are authentic, realistic, and true.

So grab your napkin, take a deep breath, and plunge right in to The Brothers’ Keepers! Or better yet, start with book 1, When Camels Fly, and savor the adventure from the start.

My Thoughts:

‘The Brothers’ Keepers’ picks up a short time after the first book in ‘The Parched’ series leaves off.  Grace is in Brussels when she receives news that her fairly new daughter in-law, has been attacked in Switzerland and then that her daughter Maggie disappears again, this time in France. Within 24 hours the family meets up in France to look in to Maggie’s disappearance.

They presume that she has been kidnapped again. They realize that they are all in grave danger themselves and that their great friend is in trouble as well.

Wow, the Madison family sure does get into some tough spots and it is fun seeing how they dig themselves out.  Grace, the matriarch of the family, has a great, yet ironic sense of humor that lightens up the intense and intricate plot. I love the strong females characters of Grace and Maggie best, they can dish out as least as much as they get!

The cast of characters are so well written and studied and I found myself among them in their travels and battles.  There are also historical places and artefacts explained but done in such a seamless way that it blends into the story.  There is never a dull moment!

I have heard NLB Horton compareed to Dan Brown however, I am not a fan of his at all.  Yet, I love both books in NLB Horton’s ‘The Parched’ series and can hardly wait until book 3 is available!  I am told it is anticipated to be published in January, 2016.

5/5

I received an ebook version for my honest review.

Buy The Brother’s Keepers:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository
Indie Bound

The first book in the series, ‘When Camels Fly is currently on sale for Kindle through February 21st for only $0.99!  Go pick it up today!  Here: http://www.amazon.com/When-Camels-Fly-Parched-Book-ebook/dp/B00K7CAEHK/ref

Don’t forget, there is still time to enter my giveaway: https://theteddyrosebookreviewsplusmore.com/?p=4754

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