The Foreign Service Journal, November 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2022 43 Bitter Roots Ellen Crosby, Severn House, 2022, $17.95/paperback, e-book available, 240 pages. In the twelfth book of Ellen Crosby’s wine country mystery series, vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery is prepar- ing to get married, but the vineyard she’s chosen as a wedding venue is mysteriously dying off. Local grow- ers suspect the nursery supplier is at fault for the dying vines there and in the surrounding fields, and neighbors begin trading blame and accusations. When a beautiful nursery worker is killed, Lucie is forced to investigate the murder while also solving the mystery of the dying vines. Along the way she discovers her soon-to-be husband’s connection to the dead woman—what can it mean? Ellen Crosby is a former journalist. In addition to the wine country series and a two-part series on international photojournalist Sophie Medina, she wrote the stand-alone novel Moscow Nights (2000), which was based loosely on her time as a Moscow correspondent in the late 1980s. She is married to André de Nesnera, a Foreign Service officer who retired from the Voice of America in 2015. She and her spouse have lived in England, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and the former Soviet Union. They now reside in Northern Virginia. Proportional Response Tim Enright, Birch Forest Publishing, 2021, $18.95/paperback, e-book available, 434 pages. In a thrilling examination of the psycho- logical, relational, and political dimen- sions of terrorism and the U.S. response, Tim Enright’s novel follows the heroic actions of Ben Brownwell, a Foreign Service officer in Afghanistan. After an American soldier executes the grandson of a powerful Afghan minister, revenge-seeking Afghan officials and their Iranian allies plan a suicide attack; Brownwell finds himself hurriedly working to gain understanding and diplomatic control of the situation before more lives are lost. He is assisted by fellow national security professionals and a British diplomat as his skills are put to the test amid chaos, unpredictability, and an increasingly complex network of international actors. Tim Enright joined the Foreign Service in 2005 and is currently a stabilization adviser at the Department of State with a focus on West Africa. He has served in Iraq, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Albania, and Turkey, in addition to a stint with the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. My Soldier: A Story of True Love Emilio Iodice, independently published, 2022, $15/paperback, e-book available, 182 pages. Set on the island of Ponza, Italy, in 1944, My Soldier follows the experi- ences of Maria, only 3 years old at the time of the bombing and invasion of Anzio. World War II rages across Europe and mainland Italy while the residents of Ponza struggle with dwindling resources on the island, especially food. The arrival of Allied soldiers brings some relief to Maria’s community and for Maria, a life-changing encounter with a kind American officer. Inspired by a true story, this work is connected to the storyline of author Emilio Iodice’s World War II thriller Liberation (2021), another work of historical fiction. Retired FSO Emilio Iodice served in Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and Italy. He retired in 1998 and subsequently served as vice president of Lucent Technologies and director and professor of leadership of the John Felice Rome Center of Loyola University until 2016. He serves on the board of Marymount International and is a professor of leadership at LUISS University in Rome and director emeritus of Loyola University Chicago’s campus in Rome. Other books by Iodice include two nonfiction works, Transformation: Hardwire Your Mind for Success and Leadership (2021) and The Commander in Chief (2020). He lives and works in Italy. You Say: Lies That Deceive and Kill Us Philip J. Skotte, LifeRich Publishing, 2021, $11.99/paperback, e-book available, 120 pages. Philip Skotte is back with his fourth book, You Say: Lies That Deceive and Kill Us . Set in 2030, the novel follows a Christian who dies in an accident and expects to go to heaven. Instead the protagonist finds himself on a “journey