Happily Managing a Household of Boys: JustRead Tours Blog Tour: The London Forgery by Heidi Eljarbo

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

JustRead Tours Blog Tour: The London Forgery by Heidi Eljarbo

The London Forgery JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The London Forgery by Heidi Eljarbo, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: The London Forgery
Series: A Fabiola Bennett Mystery #1
Author: Heidi Eljarbo
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: August 29, 2023
Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery, Dual Timeline

1973. Art historian Fabiola Bennett sees herself as a prudently observant deer who becomes a daring and even mischievous lioness if the situation calls for it. And that’s exactly what’s required when greedy criminals steal, forge, and tamper with treasured artwork. When the crooks add murder to their list of crimes, the chaos is complete.

A mysterious note is delivered anonymously at the door of the National Gallery in London, and the director immediately calls Fabiola’s office in Oslo and pleads with her to come without delay. The message is confusing, but it seems one of her favorite eighteenth-century portraits is in trouble.

Fabiola hops on the first plane and meets up with her vibrant side-kick Pippa Yates and the ever-loyal Detective Inspector Cary Green from New Scotland Yard. But she is not naïve enough to think untangling the purpose and meaning of the mysterious note will be as simple as a walk in Hyde Park. These things never are.

1750. Newly married Robert and Frances Andrews, members of the landed gentry of Suffolk, England, hire young and talented Thomas Gainsborough to paint their wedding portrait. Their desire is a lovely conversation piece showing their wealth and class, an artwork to remember them by for generations to come.

Little do they know the gifted artist portrays their personalities exactly how he perceives them, and the artistic symbolism is not as flattering as they’d hoped for. Even the looming clouds in the distance promise a troublesome future.

This is the first book in a new dual timeline series by Heidi Eljarbo—an intriguing spin-off from the much-loved Soli Hansen Mysteries.

Fans of Lucinda Riley, Rhys Bowen, Kathleen McGurl, Kate Morton, and Katherine Neville will love this cozy historical art mystery, which takes the readers back to the nostalgia of the groovy seventies and the classical Georgian era of the eighteenth century.

Christian Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres to read. I have also become a fan of Dual Timelines stories. The London Forgery by Heidi Eljarbo combines both of those. This is Book 1 in the Fabiola Bennett Mystery series.

The Setting of the book is Norway with a Dual Timeline of the years of 1750 and 1973. Fabiola Bennett has followed in her mom's footsteps and is an Art Historian. Fabiola is always up to handle the situation when Artwork is being stolen or tampered with. She receives a call from the Director of the National Gallery in London when a mysterious note is left at their door. The Gallery needs her to come immediately as it seems one of her favorite eighteenth-century portraits might have been stolen or other trouble has arisen. She immediately gets on the plane and heads to the London Gallery and meets up with her side kick Pippa Yates and Detective Inspector Cary Green. She doesn't expect this case to be easy, but she is determined to solve the case. Head back to 1750 and Robert and Frances Andrews and newly married and they are excited about their Wedding Portrait by artist Thomas Gainsborough. They are troubled by the Portrait as the Artist has painted what he sees in their personalities and they spot trouble on the horizon for them. Will Fabiola and her crew solve the Mystery of the Artwork and the letter left at the door of the London Gallery?

I truly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The Dual Timeline was so accurately researched and made the book very intriguing. I LOVE the characters in the book, especially Fabiola. She was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and really does know her Artwork. I loved both times of the Dual Timeline and the way the Author consistently went back and forth between the 2 time periods. The Author does a WONDERFUL job at connecting the storylines to each other and the history learned from reading this book was great! The book is filled with Suspense, History, and Intrigue. I started reading and could not put the book down. I would also mention that Heidi Eljarbo is becoming my favorite Dual Timeline author! Her writing style for Dual Timelines really keeps the reader intrigued in the story! I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Dual Timelines and Christian Historical Fiction. GREAT BOOK!

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

Heidi Eljarbo

Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of historical fiction and mysteries filled with courageous and good characters that are easy to love and others you don't want to go near.

Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, fifteen grandchildren—so far—in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.

Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

Connect with Heidi by visiting heidieljarbo.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

(2) winners will win a print copy of "The London Forgery", an eBook "Of Darkness and Light" and a $10 Amazon gift card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 26, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 3, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. No shipping restrictions. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

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