Why can Joyce Carol Oates give us Babysitter — a psychological nail-biter — at a time when some readers are looking to escape to a calmer, friendlier world these days? Because she’s Joyce Carol Oates, that’s why. Highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning author of nearly sixty novels, as well as a…
Valerie Taylor, author of the "Venus Bixby Mystery" seriesAugust 22, 2022
While traveling through southwest England in 1993, Nicholas Evans met a blacksmith who told him tales of the horse whisperers who lived in the quieter parts of the country: people who were said to be able to speak to and heal troubled and injured horses. The stories inspired the to-be-author,…
Mckenzie TozanAugust 22, 2022
Calling all Crime Junkies! If you haven’t heard the latest buzz, the rumors are true. Our favorite true crime podcaster, the incredible Ashley Flowers, has made her explosive debut as an author with her first (but hopefully not her last) novel, All Good People Here (Bantam). It is a tale…
Gabby DavisAugust 19, 2022
A genealogy project documenting the life of his great-grandparent’s westward experiences during the 19th century holds unexpected surprises for retired newspaper editor Elliott Madison in K. Patrick Conner’s charming novel, Westbound (Nacl Press). History Revealed Through Letters and Journal Entries Living in San Francisco’s upscale Russian Hill district, Elliott uses…
Peggy KurkowskiDecember 2, 2022
Ernie’s Bleachers was clearly a passion project for author Tim Pareti, whose family owned the Ernie’s Bleachers tavern in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood just across from Wrigley Field. It’s the tavern that became Ray’s Bleachers, home of the 1969 Bleacher Bums, and then Murphy’s Bleachers, which is still going strong eight decades…
Dennis HetzelAugust 17, 2022
In Louise Penny’s new mystery, World of Curiosities (Minotaur), the past and present of Québec Sûreté Chief Inspector Armand Gamache once again collide in the idyllic village of Three Pines. But this time, in its most deadly form possible. Siblings with a Shady Past It is spring, and as the…
Jodé MillmanNovember 29, 2022
Unconventional family stories are fun to read and give us an understanding of unfamiliar situations, allowing for the development of empathy. Eleanor Brown's Any Other Family (Putnam) is about open adoption, siblings and how their adoptive families chose to raise them together as one big family. Although the subject may…
Jennifer BlankfeinAugust 16, 2022
New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown isn’t afraid to admit she wrote Blind Tiger — last year’s historical story of romantic suspense, set in the 1920s — partially to avoid dealing with the pandemic. As COVID continued to sweep across the globe, Brown says she wasn’t quite sure how she wanted that…
Dawn IusAugust 16, 2022
As with many violent tales, it all started with a woman. The same holds true for City on Fire (William Morrow) by Don Winslow. Danny Ryan knew the minute he saw the gorgeous woman that she would be trouble. But he didn't know that the lives of his family and friends…
K.L. RomoAugust 15, 2022
Summer reading is always great, whether it takes place in the sunroom, the backyard or at the beach. I recently had a very mild bout with COVID and took advantage of some rest and relaxation with my nose in a book. If you are interested in reading about old New…
Jennifer BlankfeinAugust 12, 2022
Johanna Mo’s The Shadow Lily (Penguin) is as intricate as it is alluring. This second book of The Island Murder Series stands alone, filling in crucial details about the previous novel while setting the scene for a third. Part thriller, part police procedural, The Shadow Lily weaves a missing persons…
Megan BeauregardAugust 11, 2022
America, the not-too-distant future. A dictator has toppled democracy and one country will not be enough to satiate his hunger for power. A clandestine organization known as the High Command has taken over the U.S. government, sowing the seeds of global war and overtaking every country in its path to…
Gevera Bert PiedmontAugust 10, 2022
Elly Griffiths’ latest suspenseful mystery novel Bleeding Heart Yard (Mariner) might rightfully give pause to those readers who are contemplating attending an upcoming high school reunion. It’s daunting enough to be concerned about your appearance and imagining how you might measure up to long-ago classmates without finding one old friend…
Linda HitchcockNovember 16, 2022
The central theme of Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man (Riverhead Books) is straightforward: race is a construct. In this highly anticipated novel from the author of the bestselling Exit West, the main character Anders is distressed when his skin suddenly changes to a deep, unmistakable shade of brown. He…
Michael FerryAugust 9, 2022
This novel is as vibrant as its cover, alive and awash with people and love. Its first chapters begin in a rhythm that is clipped and clear, the beat of it ticking along like a clock until suddenly, it shatters, lurching into the life of a young, queer, Indian woman. All…
Megan BeauregardAugust 5, 2022