Evita and Me by Erika Rummel
Publisher: DX Varos Publishing (May 24, 2022)
Category: Historical Fiction, Crime, Women’s Literature
Tour Dates June 21-July 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1955065320
Available in Print and ebook, 384 pages
Description Evita and Me by Erika Rummel
Evita Peron’s jewels are missing. Only three people know that they are in a vault in the Swiss Alps; Evita’s corrupt and brutal brother Juan, her bodyguard Pierre, and a teenaged girl Mona, her newest protegee. What happens if two of them team up?
Like Eva herself, Mona comes from a broken family and has to make her own way. Perhaps that’s why the two women feel close. Evita is at the pinnacle of success but already in the grip of a fatal illness. We see her life through the eyes of Mona and Pierre, two people she trusts — and who betray her in the end. Or can theft and murder be justified?
A story of love, adventure, and murder.
My Thoughts Evita and Me by Erika Rummel
It is 1947 and 16-year-old Mona is living in Canada with her mother. She sees her mother as irresponsible, to say the least. One day her mother tells Mona that she is invited by a family friend, Liliana to visit her in Argentina. Mona very much doubts that she was invited and that her mother orchestrated the whole thing to get Mona way for a couple weeks. Mona doesn’t really want to go know that Liliana was most likely roped into it but agrees, if only to get away from her mother’s newest boyfriend.
When Mona arrives, a chauffeur picks her up and brings her to Liliana’s glamourous house. She is told that Liliana is at work but will see her at dinner. Mona soon discovers that her hunch is correct and she was not invited. Liliana seems less than thrilled to see her. However, she makes the best out of the situation.
The next day Liliana suggests that Mona go shopping and her chauffeur drops her off at a high-end shopping district. She will be meeting Liliana’s boss, Evita Peron at dinner that night. She has no money so she buys a dress and charges it to Liliana. Liliana later questions her about this but drops it knowing she cannot be a poor hostess.
To put this review in perspective, I need to mention that Mona herself, declares herself an unreliable narrator of her own story.
At dinner, that night, Mona falls in love with Evita. Luckily, Evita is fond of Mona as well and invites her over the next evening. The friendship blossoms from their and before long, Evita invites Mona to go to Europe with her, where she is going on business. Evita sends Mona an entire new wardrobe for the trip.
Of course, once the trip is coming to it’s conclusion, Evita asked Mona for a very special and very secret favor. She asks her to go to Zurich with Evita’s brother, Juan and most trusted security guy, Pierre to deposit her most prized jewels into a security box. Mona will keep one of only 3 keys and goes back to Canada.
Flash forward to 1952. Mona is in an unhappy marriage and learns that Evita has passed away. Now she is worried that Juan will come after her for her key. He needs all three to get the jewels.
Action packed with beautiful historical detail and amazing writing, ‘Evita and Me’ is not to be missed. This is the fourth book by Ericka Rummel that I have read and I have enjoyed them all. However, this novel is my favorite. Rummel has written over a dozen non-fiction books so she knows how to do her research. That is not enough for a novel like this though. She seamlessly writes with the use of the research, plot, characters, and places with precision.
‘Evita and Me’ captured my full attention from page one and I could not put it down. I read all night and didn’t want it to end! Mona and Evita will stay in my mind for a very long time. I rarely read the same book twice since there are so many, I want to read but I am sure I will read ‘Evita and Me’ again! 5/5
I received the eBook for my honest opinion.
About Erika Rummel
Award winning author, Erika Rummel is the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books and seven novels. Her seventh novel, ‘Evita and Me’ is being published on May 24, 2022.
She won the Random House Creative Writing Award (2011) for a chapter from ‘The Effects of Isolation on the Brain’ and The Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association’ Award for Best Historical Novel, in 2018. She is the recipient of a Getty Fellowship and the Killam Award.
Erika grew up in Vienna, emigrated to Canada and obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto. She taught at Wilfrid Laurier and U of Toronto. She divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles and has lived in Argentina, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Erika’s Website: http://www.erikarummel.com/
Erika’s Blog: http://rummelsincrediblestories.blogspot.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/historycracks
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This giveaway is for 2 print copies and is open to Canada and the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on July 23, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
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