She's wicked and evil! The perfect villainess, in line with Cruella de Ville!

I must highly recommend that you dive right into this story! You will be able to hiss at the bad gal to your heart's content! There are all kinds of clues that will lead you to yell at the characters so they won't make a mistake! Like an old Saturday at the matinee with all your buddies and rooting the good guys on! Lots of action and, this time, some romance!

Follow H. P. on Twitter (@HP_Oliver) and be sure to see his website for extras on each of his books! I guarantee you will enjoy the experience!

~Diana S. Johnson

H. P. Oliver Takes Readers on a Suspenseful Road Trip!

H. P. Oliver's latest nove,l ESTELLE, has been called a classic saga of virtue and evil. Set in 1928 Santa Barbara, California, the book introduces readers to wealthy Estelle Abernathy, a prominent figure in the community known for her philanthropy and business ventures, but is she also doling out ruthlessness and revenge as swirling rumors may suggest?

In ESTELLE, Oliver takes readers on a journey led by reporter Lester Kinney, who has recently relocated to the area and begins investigating a story in which he quickly finds himself unexpectedly interwoven. Enter a captivating librarian and her powerful publishing papa, and we head out with Kinney on a ride along the Southern California coast to get the full scoop but also as a matter of life and death.

Oliver manages to blend suspense with a love story and delivers vivid imagery of the setting and the mindset of the era in which these characters go about their lives. Historical fiction fans who enjoy this time period will appreciate each picturesque detail, and mystery lovers will embark happily on the twists and turns of the road trip.

~C. Kuhn

Good Noir Plot

Good noir plot, lots of neat historical references, and a guided tour up and down the California coast from Santa Barbara to Tijuana during prohibition and the oil boom. Telephone numbers were only three or four digits and newspapers were making a profit. Some sensitive legal and social issues plus young romance.

~Amazon Customer

Well Done Once Again!

Estelle is an evolution for H. P. Oliver's storytelling, offering a more adult narrative with a few instances of PG or possibly R rated dialogue and scenes.  Thoughtfully presented, these situations depict human actions, good and bad, and enhance Lester and Eliza's relationship development and depict Estelle's wickedness.  Readers of prior HPO books will appreciate the evolution without fear of offense.

The story offers witty dialogue and often-whimsical narratives (From his hospitable bed, Lester opines: "Some curious thoughts were drifting by me in my black void of nothingness.  One of them had all the earmarks of a relevant question:  Can dead people think?  I attempted the use of logic to resolve this conundrum?" And develops from there.). 

The attire, vehicles, landscape, and architecture of the period are brought to life throughout the story, and a reader's mind crafts the details from HPO's creative writing; as always, HPO's fan site assists our mind's depictions with a link for the author's signature "Visualizations: page, which includes excerpted dialogue and associated pictures.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and found I was reading far longer than planned for each session, compelled to continue reading as the story pulled me in.  As I read, I tried connecting the dots and developed my own false leads, hoodwinked once again by HPO.

I purchased a copy of Estelle for my mother, who read the book swiftly; we agree that we both eagerly anticipate the next creative endeavor from H. P. Oliver.  Estelle is our favorite H. P. Oliver book to date. 

Well done, once again, Mr. Oliver!

~L V Reader