The Wishing Bridge

The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman 368 pages

 

When Henrietta “Henri” Wegner was a child, she and her parents lived with grandparents. Her father started a small handmade Christmas business in the basement. It was his dream to own a store that celebrated Christmas all year long.

 

Fast forward a few decades. In Detroit, Henri is now 52 years old and a hotshot with a mergers and acquisitions corporate giant, Tolliver & Co. Their goal is to go after small businesses and sell them to larger companies. When the owner of Tolliver’s has a massive heart attack, his son, Benji, takes over.

 

It’s been a rough couple of years for Henri because she could not meet her goals. Henri sees the writing on the wall, the new kids coming in are hungrier, greedier, and less caring than ever before. They do not mind tearing people’s lives apart.

 

In desperation, Henri promises that she can get her parents to sell their store, Wegner’s, before Christmas. If she doesn’t come through, Benji will fire her in the new year. So, Henri heads back to Frankenmuth, Michigan, her hometown, to convince her parents to sell.

 

Wegner’s has indeed become the Christmas store capital of the world. Visitors come by the busload all year to enjoy the handcrafted items and experience the Hallmark-like-town Bavarian town.

 

When Henri arrives, memories flood back, and as the season progresses, she’s finding it harder and harder to discuss the store sale with her parents. Benji, the spoiled brat that he is, bullies her with texts about losing. And to top it off, her high school sweetheart, the one who proposed to her, is also back in Frankenmuth after a divorce.

 

I love Viola Shipman’s novels. They speak to a woman’s heart. This one was not as good as his other novels*, but I can’t put my finger on what the problem is. I do think that “The Wishing Bridge” would make a wonderful Hallmark movie.

 

The Wishing Bridge gets 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

*In case you didn’t know, Shipman is the pseudonym of Wade Rouse. It was his grandmother’s name.

 

Miss Julia Strikes Back

Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross    339 pages

After a less than stellar seventh outing with Miss Julia Strikes Back, Ann B. Ross continues the tales of the tales of Mrs. Julia Springer, known around Abbottsville simply as Miss Julia, with Miss Julia Strikes Back. This southern magnolia is anything but quiet and demur; she quite feisty for a woman “of a certain age.”

Almost all of Miss Julia’s family has gone out of town. Her new husband Sam is a long-planned trip to Russia. Hazel Marie is vacationing in Mexico. Little Lloyd and Lillian are there to keep her company as well as keep an eye on her. That’s not enough to keep Miss Julia occupied. So she decides to throw a party. She invites her closest friends.  As always, the food and house are impeccable. Upon her guests’ departure, Miss Julia discovers that her wedding rings are missing.  She turns the house upside down and inside out in an effort to find them. Without any luck. Even Hazel Marie’s jewelry is missing. What the heck is going on?

Soon she learns that other women in Abbottsville are also missing their jewels. She needs Mr. Pikens more than ever, and while he’s also “out-of-town,” everyone knows he’s in Mexico with Hazel Marie. That leave Sergeant Coleman Bates to learn what happened. Fat chance of anything happening with him in charge.

Coleman moves much too slow for Miss Julia. Her investigation uncovers that a professional jewelry ring has been operating all over the county. Soon, she and Little Lloyd have tailed the thieves to Palm Beach and head down there to get her rings back. And hopefully some of others’ missing jewelry.

 Ross scores again with Miss Julia Strikes Back. While not as funny and a tad over the top as the first six books in the series, I’m glad to see her back in all her feistiness. Miss Julia Strikes Back gets 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Wicked Charms

Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich & Phoef Sutton, 308 pages

Another fun-filled Lizzy and Diesel novel that made me laugh out loud a couple of times.  This time, while pursuing the Stone of Avarice, Lizzy and Diesel encounter a man, Martin Ammon, who thinks he is harboring the demon Mammon and needs the Stone, along with a few other items, to release it.  While our protagonists don't believe that the release of Mammon is real, they still need to find the Stone first.  Also, it doesn't help that Ammon's henchmen keep breaking into Lizzy's place to kidnap her or look for items they need.  And when it's not Ammon's men, it's Wulf or his sidekick, Hatchet, breaking in or kidnapping her.  I really enjoyed this addition to the series and am looking forward to the next.