{"id":898,"date":"2024-11-04T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T15:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=898"},"modified":"2024-11-04T15:09:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T15:09:00","slug":"book-review-lost-graces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=898","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Lost Graces"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\"><strong><em>Lost Graces<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-regular-font-size\">by Helen Montague Foster<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Genre:<\/strong> Mystery, Thriller &amp; Suspense<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>ISBN: <\/strong>9798891324305<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Print Length:<\/strong> 254 pages<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/atmospherepress.com\/\">Atmosphere Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ub-buttons align-button-center orientation-button-row ub-flex-wrap wp-block-ub-button\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-container\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4hwxOAL\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ub-button-block-main ub-button-medium ub-button-flex-medium\" rel=\"noopener\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-content-holder\"><span class=\"ub-button-icon-holder\"><\/span><span class=\"ub-button-block-btn\">Buy from Amazon<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Reviewed by Toni Woodruff<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"ub_advanced_heading wp-block-ub-advanced-heading\"><strong><\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong>An introspective thriller that unearths the insidious nature of profiting from the ill<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Dr. Nancy Thomas is an accomplished psychiatrist who has begun seeing two worrying patients, Alan and Grace. Both patients have a history of substantial abuse and tend to withdraw whenever she makes progress. She\u2019s having a difficult time even getting care for Alan, as his insurance, MARASM, denies her request to continue seeing him. Then her worries balloon even more when she finds out that her colleagues are being murdered with no clear motive or suspect.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The issues\u00a0 seem circumstantial with no connection whatsoever, but as Nancy investigates further, she comes to realize that there is something nefarious webbing all of this together and she\u2019s currently ensnared.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Lost Graces <\/em>has a striking ambiance, especially in the opening pages. We are transported to a foggy highway with a ghostlike presence haunting Nancy, but the description focuses largely on weather and sound rather than outright creeping us out. What an intriguing atmospheric way to start this story! For Nancy, this sets up real feelings of paranoia and the need to second-guess things regularly throughout the book\u2014a helpful attribute in a mystery like this one. Along with fearing for her life, Nancy\u2019s journey is highlighted by the interpersonal adversities that come with her job.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As a reader, I suspected everyone, and Nancy does the same. The more subtle moments of the thriller, like the pouring rain and shadowy figures, are set up so well that they linger long in the mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This story is written as a recollection from present day Nancy, often explaining things about the 90s when the incidents take place. Nancy adds quips to remind the reader how things have progressed in her field: some of it for the worse with the introduction of digitized data, and some for the better as her colleagues are Black pioneers in the field. This thought-provoking mystery is ultimately about progress and the many forms that it can take.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In most of the book, Nancy\u2019s thoughts are shared and integral, but some bigger moments\u2014like deaths\u2014are left out and end up leaving behind some of the emotional punch. Her thoughts and opinions add a lot of value, even if they may cover similar topics regularly.<\/p>\n<p>Pick up this book, and fall under the spell of those stellar opening pages. I promise you\u2019ll want to read more. Those interested in thrillers with a sympathetic message are going to love <em>Lost Graces.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"ub-buttons align-button-center orientation-button-row ub-flex-wrap wp-block-ub-button\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-container\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4hwxOAL\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ub-button-block-main ub-button-medium ub-button-flex-medium\" rel=\"noopener\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-content-holder\"><span class=\"ub-button-icon-holder\"><\/span><span class=\"ub-button-block-btn\">Buy from Amazon<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Thank you for reading Toni Woodruff\u2019s book review of<em> Lost Graces <\/em>by Helen Montague Foster! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ub-buttons align-button-center orientation-button-row ub-flex-wrap wp-block-ub-button\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-container\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/independentbookreview.com\/category\/book-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ub-button-block-main ub-button-medium ub-button-flex-medium\" rel=\"noopener\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-content-holder\"><span class=\"ub-button-icon-holder\"><\/span><span class=\"ub-button-block-btn\">Book Reviews<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"ub-button-container\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/independentbookreview.com\/category\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ub-button-block-main ub-button-medium ub-button-flex-medium\" rel=\"noopener\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-content-holder\"><span class=\"ub-button-icon-holder\"><\/span><span class=\"ub-button-block-btn\">IBR Blog<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"ub-button-container\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/independentbookreview.com\/writers-only\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ub-button-block-main ub-button-medium ub-button-flex-medium\" rel=\"noopener\">\n<div class=\"ub-button-content-holder\"><span class=\"ub-button-icon-holder\"><\/span><span class=\"ub-button-block-btn\">Resources for Writers<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/independentbookreview.com\/2024\/11\/04\/book-review-lost-graces\/\">Book Review: Lost Graces<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/independentbookreview.com\/\">Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lost Graces by Helen Montague Foster Genre: Mystery, Thriller &amp; Suspense ISBN: 9798891324305 Print Length: 254 pages Publisher: Atmosphere Press Buy from Amazon Reviewed by Toni Woodruff An introspective thriller that unearths the insidious nature of profiting from the ill Dr. Nancy Thomas is an accomplished psychiatrist who has begun seeing two worrying patients, Alan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}