Category Archives: Fiction

The Devotion of Suspect X: A Detective Galileo Novel (Detective Galileo Series, 1) by Keigo Higashino

18 Wednesday Sep 2024

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We know who committed the crime at the very beginning of this Japanese mystery, yet there are still many twists and turns to come in the story of a man who helps his neighbor cover up a murder.

“Winner of Japan’s prestigious Naoki Prize and a bestseller there with more than two million copies sold, this literary psychological thriller is a subtle and shifting murder mystery. It will make readers redefine devotion and trust in an otherwise complete stranger.” ―Library Journal (starred review)

Veteran police detective matches wits with a brilliant rookie criminal. This character-driven mystery by the prolific Higashino has much to recommend, including a droll Columbo-like sleuth and a great surprise ending.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In The Devotion of Suspect X, Keigo Higashino weaves a web of intellectual gamesmanship in which the truth is a weapon that leads both police and readers astray. The ingenius conclusion is so unexpected that it’s difficult to imagine anyone seeing it coming. Smart, smart characters.” ―Jaqueline Winspear

“Irresistible! A mind-twisting story that will have readers plunging in to try to solve the crime before the math genius, the physics professor, or the cop get there first.” ―Nancy Pickard, New York Times bestselling author of The Scent of Rain and Lightning and The Virgin of Small Plains

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The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

03 Tuesday Sep 2024

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, United States

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“I knew from page one that this wasn’t going to be a typical journey through a familiar history. Wonderfully structured with a genius conceit, Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s The American Daughters is a thoughtful, courageous, exciting invitation to look beneath the surface—to uncover, peel back, find, and examine the hidden, lost, and missing fragments of the record, the recovery of which will lead us to discover the spirit of resistance embodied by our ancestors and awaken it in ourselves. . . . A splendid work.”—Robert Jones, Jr., New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award finalist The Prophets

“Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s third book is a tour de force. An intelligent and haunting novel that grapples with the legacies of American slavery, The American Daughters features a sparkling cast of engaging Black women that you won’t soon forget.”—Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy

 “Ruffin’s dignified prose and focus on the bonds of women of color help elevate the novel from the tropes of slavery narratives, and he paints a vibrant picture of antebellum New Orleans. Readers won’t be able to resist this stirring story of freedom by any means necessary.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A high adventure, a revealing history, and a chronicle of one woman’s self-realization. Ruffin also displays some of the cunning imagination and caustic wit he showed in his previous work by interspersing his narrative with imagined transcripts from the past, present, and even the future. Black women as agents—literally—of their own liberation. Who wouldn’t be inspired?”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan

26 Monday Aug 2024

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Her writing is so brilliant describing quiet, everyday moments with beauty and clarity in these short stories. Definitely read her other three short books!

“A master class in precisely crafted short fiction… Keegan’s trenchant observations explode like bombshells, bringing menace and retribution to tales of romance delayed, denied, and even deadly.” — Booklist, starred review

“Each story in So Late in the Day offers readers the suspense one might feel when walking home alone late at night. Violence lurks in Keegan’s stories, just as it does in our real world, despite it being so late in the story of women and men.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

“Compact but deep explorations of human vulnerability from a master of the form.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Exquisite . . . These pristine stories demonstrate the author’s genius for economy. Keegan says in a paragraph what other writers take entire novels to reveal.” — Publishers Weekly

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The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

19 Monday Aug 2024

Posted by in adventure, detective, Fiction, Historical Fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, United States

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A literary mystery set at a summer camp, where two siblings vanish years apart. Well written and haunting.

“A rare gem, an immersive and enthralling literary thriller: a novel about love in the aftermath of tragedy, and about families of the very best—and the worst—kind.”—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

“Liz Moore’s extraordinary new literary suspense novelreminds me of Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut, The Secret History. . . . [T]he vital connection for me was a reading experience where I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air. . . . The precision of Moore’s writing never flags. . . . Unforgettable.”—Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR

“Rich in background detail and secondary mysteries . . . this ever-expansive, intricate, emotionally engaging novel never seems overplotted. Every piece falls skillfully into place and every character, major and minor, leaves an imprint.”—Kirkus, STARRED review

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Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

12 Monday Aug 2024

Posted by in crimes against, Fiction, Historical Fiction, murder, murder and investigation, thriller, True crime, United States

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This novel is based on the real-life crimes of Ted Bundy, though he is deliberately never named. Instead, Bright Young Women focuses on the lives of the women he crosses paths with and forever changes. This is a powerful story about violence, anger, and how women navigate the world.

“An unsettling and thrilling page-turner… Knoll’s haunting, must-read account will captivate [readers] until the end.”—Library Journal (starred Review)

“Bright Young Women is a fearless and intoxicating ride into the aftershocks of a series of brutal murders. Knoll explores in vivid, pointillist prose the effects on the ‘bright young women’ of the title, both the victims snuffed out in their glorious prime, and those left behind in their wake. It’s a compelling, almost hypnotic read and I loved it with a passion.”
—Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling Author of Then She Was Gone

“Stunning… By focusing on the women affected by her Ted Bundy stand-in instead of the nuances of his criminal psychology, Knoll movingly reframes an American obsession without stripping it of its intrigue. The results are masterful.”—Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

“Blistering and powerful, Bright Young Women is an almost unbearably vivid story of sisterhood and survival. With razor-sharp skill, Jessica Knoll deconstructs the myth of a criminal mastermind, revealing the women he seeks to destroy as the truly brilliant ones.”
—Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy and Under the Harrow

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The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett 

05 Monday Aug 2024

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I listened to the audio version and really enjoyed the British accents and slang. It becomes a bit complicated and confusing. I think listening provided a better reading experience than reading print for this one. 

“The Twyford Code is easily one of the cleverest and most original mystery novels in recent memory.”—BookPage (starred review)

“[I]ngenious… Filled with numerous clues, acrostics, and red herrings, this thrilling scavenger hunt for the truth is delightfully deceptive and thoroughly immersive.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Hallett continues to pull the rug out from under the reader every time we think we understand what’s going on… It’s complicated, in the best way, and the reveals over the last section of the book are truly gaspworthy… Code lovers rejoice! This one’s for you.”—Kirkus Reviews

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The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo   

17 Wednesday Jul 2024

Posted by in fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, romance

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Set during the Spanish Inquisition, The Familiar follows a young servant Luzia, who is hiding her Jewish identity at a dangerous time. When her employer learns she can do magic, Luzia is drawn into a royal competition. This is an engaging mix of fantasy and historical fiction with great characters.

“Bardugo masterfully weaves magical realism with historical fiction and romance, which makes this book impossible to put down.”―Library Journal (starred review)

“The Familiar highlights all of the things that make Bardugo so well loved: a romance with maddening chemistry, an artfully built world, side characters with their own deep backstories, and a plot full of dark twists and spiderweb connections.”―Booklist (starred review)

“Reading Bardugo is an immersive, sensual experience… One can’t help sinking into Luzia and Santángel’s world and wishing never to leave.”―The New York Times

“The Familiar feels distinct from similar tales ― including Bardugo’s own ― because it explores a brutal and shameful real-life history… Bardugo brilliantly explores the wavy line between the supernatural and the divine: Magic is forbidden, but miracles come from God.”―The Washington Post

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The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

01 Monday Jul 2024

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Clover has lived a mostly shuttered life in NYC with her grandfather.  She becomes a death doula (yes, a paying job) and spends so much time with the dying that she doesn’t have much to show for her own life until she meets a feisty woman.  This book takes the normally taboo subject of death and turns it into a reason to celebrate life.

“This weird, lovely and sweetly satisfying novel [is] engaging and accessible…Clover’s emergence from a shuttered life is moving enough to elicit tears, and Brammer’s take on death and grieving is profound enough to feel genuinely instructional.” ––The New York Times Book Review

“Brammer writes with grace and heart about the complicated and complex world of grief. The Collected Regrets of Clover explores anticipatory grief, denial, anger, loss, and––as the title suggests––regret. Despite the heavy subject, though, Brammer’s debut is never dark or hopeless…[and] is ultimately a beautiful story of belonging and connection and, cliché though it may sound, what it really means to live life to its fullest.” ––Shelf Awareness

“This is a beautiful tale of a vulnerable, compassionate woman who finds that, in order to care for others, she must also let herself be cared for. Even that cliché feels moving, rather than saccharine, in Brammer’s capable hands.” ––Kirkus (starred review)

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James: a Novel by Percival Everett  

17 Monday Jun 2024

Posted by in action, adventure, Fiction, Humor, United States

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James reimagines the classic Huckleberry Finn story from Jim’s perspective in a funny, thought-provoking page-turner.

“James is funny and horrifying, brilliant and riveting. In telling the story of Jim instead of Huckleberry Finn, Percival Everett delivers a powerful, necessary corrective to both literature and history. I found myself cheering both the writer and his hero. Who should read this book? Every single person in the country.”—Ann Patchett

“Ingenious … Jim’s wrenching odyssey concludes with remarkable revelations, violent showdowns, and insightful meditations on literature and philosophy. Everett has outdone himself.”
—Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

“[A] careful and thought-provoking auditing of Huckleberry Finn. . . [James is] a kind of commentary or midrash, broadening our understanding of an endangered classic by bringing out the tragedy behind the comic facade. And that is no small thing. I expect that James will be spoken of as a repudiation of Huckleberry Finn, but a book like this can only be written in a spirit of engaged devotion. More than a correction, it’s a rescue mission. And maybe this time it will work.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Percival Everett is a giant of American letters, and James is a canon-shatteringly great book. Unforgiving and compassionate, beautiful and brutal, a tragedy and a farce, this brilliant novel rewrites literary history to let us hear the voices it has long suppressed.”—Hernan Diaz, author of Trust

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The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

07 Friday Jun 2024

Posted by in Fiction, suspense, United States

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This was a hoot – great fun and I didn’t see a few (of the many) twists and turns coming.

“Featuring unreliable narrators and twists throughout, Hawkins’ latest continues her reign as the queen of slow-burn domestic thrillers. This is a page-turner that readers will find hard to put down and is perfect for fans of stories with ambiguous morals and dysfunctional families.” ―Booklist

“Hawkins does an excellent job keeping readers off-balance throughout. Nonstop twists and surprises make this a true thrill ride…a delicious tale of murder, greed, and the ties that bind.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Rachel Hawkins delivers another read-in-a-sitting knockout. The Heiress has it all―murder, secrets, Gothic vibes, and one of the most deliciously twisted families ever put to page. I loved it!” ―Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Only One Left

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