Friday, September 19, 2014

Thorsday Book Review: Tender Treachery

I know it's Friday, but Thursday happened too fast for me.

This is the new book by H. Y. Hanna, second in her "First Love" series.

TENDER TREACHERY
by H. Y. Hanna

This is the follow-up book to Tender Deceit, which I reviewed a couple of months back, written by H. Y. Hanna (also author of the Honey the Great Dane mysteries).  It's pure chick-lit, a light romantic mystery.  Leah has returned to England from Singapore, having tended to her father's funeral, reconnected with her first love, Toran James.  After about 2 months back at her job and life, but still distracted by the thought of Toran, Leah, when offered a promotion at her job, instead quit, packed up and returned to Singapore.  After all, she does have her father's villa, now her own; her childhood best friend Julie is still there, and Toran has been in frequent contact with her, including sending her 2 dozen red roses the day she quit her job.  While it's better to read the first book first, there's enough of a recap in the first couple of chapters to catch you up on what happened in that book.  In the first few days Leah's back in Singapore, she has a quarrel with Julie when she learns the truth about something Julia did (or did not do) 12 years earlier, when Leah's father sent her back to England to finish her schooling.  Then she goes to Toran's apartment, only to find Toran's ex-fiancee, Angela, living there.  She and Angela talk, and Angela confides that she's going to a retreat which she had been investigating for a newspaper article.  The next day, when Leah and Toran are returning to his apartment, Angela's parents are waiting in the hallway for him, distraught that Angela has disappeared.  Leah feels guilty for encouraging Angela to go, gets accepted to this retreat (which, of course, is a cult with nefarious undertones), with the intention of bringing Angela back.  It's a very light mystery, and it's not difficult to see where it's going, but the characters are engaging, and there's enough suspense to keep the reader interested.  And, at the end, there's a hook which will lead into the next book in the series.  Hsin-Yi has proven herself to be an imaginative author, and versatile, moving from her children's books into adult books seamlessly.  If you're looking for light and easy reading, this is a good series.  Only available in Kindle format.  5/5

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

6 comments:

SissySees said...

What fun to read a book by a bloggy pal! I am losing hope that I'll slog through Sound & Fury for book club in 5 days...

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for your thoughtful review of my book, Marjie! :-) It's always interesting to hear your take on things, especially as we're from different cultures - sort of - it's like seeing your own book from a different perspective. Anyway, I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! :-)

Hsin-Yi

Anonymous said...

Good luck with you new book, HY.

STELLA and RORY from Down Under said...

Hi Marjie, I have this book too but have not read it yet. After your review I must find the time. I loved the first one in this series. Hope your weekend is a good one. We are having another wonderful Spring day and yesterday I had Rory inside, lying in the sun, with BOTH BOOTS OFF!! We aired his feet for a few hours which was lovely for him before we put them on again to protect his still damaged toes. Isn't it wonderful how a warm, sunny day makes everyone feel good. Take care mate. No worries, and love, Carol

pam said...

Sounds good!

Pam said...

I just read a long and deep book so light and easy sounds just about right. This one sounds great.