This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Joan Mauch has been a writer all her life, but only recently had her first two novels, HALIFAX (Whiskey Creek Press, 2013) and THE MANGLED SPOON published. She has worked as a teacher, public aid caseworker, head of a nonprofit housing development corporation, real estate sales agent, public relations executive, vice president of PR/marketing for a national association and most recently as proofreader for a local newspaper. She holds a master's degree in urban planning and an undergraduate degree in chemistry. In her free time she enjoys getting together with friends, running, interior decorating and reading.
Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite
If you like reading page turners that keep you guessing, you’ll enjoy The Mangled Spoon by Joan Mauch. From the moment you read about the starving, dishevelled, and disoriented Miss Joan who is found scavenging for food in a dumpster in Chapter One, you will be dying to find out how she got there and why she doesn’t want to let go of a mangled silver spoon. And Joan Mauch is not going to give you the answer till near the very end of the story.
There’s much in the news today about paedophile priests. It’s a hot topic of great consternation to the Catholic Church and its followers. What Joan Mauch does in The Mangled Spoon is create an intriguing fiction around this subject that everyone wants to cover up, both in the real world and in her story. A psychologist, Mark Rukeyser, is trying to get to the bottom of just who Miss Jane is and why she appears to have amnesia. Unable to get anything from her, he turns to police, priests, and nuns and keeps running into brick walls. In the process, he is threatened, and barely gets his family out of his house alive when it is set on fire. He suspects a cover-up, but who is covering up and why? Joan Mauch will keep you guessing.
Short chapters make The Mangled Spoon an easy-to-read book. Characters are well-drawn and the reader can relate to the emotions experienced by Rukeyser and his wife as he tries to get to the bottom of an unpleasant situation. Joan Mauch brings it all to a head in a rather movie-like swift finish that is the climax of the story, leaving the reader satisfied that the mystery has been solved at last.
