Author: carol

New Books Inspired by Classics

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Two of today’s most popular authors have new books that are on everyone’s TBR lists. More interesting is how each of these books are inspired by classic works of American literature. Lucky for me, I’ve had a chance to read them both.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett takes place during the pandemic but is not a story about illness and masks. Instead, a family gets a chance to reconnect when it’s all hands on deck at harvest time on their Michigan cherry orchard. Lara and Joe are glad to have the help of their three adult daughters who have returned home during lock-down, and realize it probably is the last time they’ll be together before their nest is empty once again. Lara decides it is time to come clean about her short-lived acting career in her 20s, when she spent a summer performing “Our Town” in a theatre company called Tom Lake. As she slowly reveals tales of her youth, what keeps her daughters (and readers) riveted, is the story of Lara’s then-love affair with Peter Duke, now a famous movie star. This exquisitely written and moving novel is a love letter to Thornton Wilder’s play, which is set in the fictional small town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire between 1901-1913. Like Patchett’s latest, it too explores the universal themes of life, love, marriage, and death.

In Alice Hoffman’s brand new novel is The Invisible Hour, fifteen-year-old Mia Jacob flees the tyrannical cult in western Massachusetts she was born by a mother who sought refuge there as a pregnant teen. The commune’s leader, Joel, imposes strict rules and shuns contact with outsiders. Mia often takes secret refuge in visiting the public library and reading. There, she falls in love with The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, noting its similarity to her own mother’s life. When Mia decides to escape the cult, she finds that her connection to Hawthorne is stronger than she could ever imagine — and it might just help save her life. The Invisible Hour is a compelling read that both is a tribute to the transformative power of reading and to Hawthorne himself.

Now, I’m inspired to re-read a favorite classic! How about you?

-Carol

Listen Up! To Crook Manifesto

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Furniture store owner Ray Carney moved stolen goods on the side to get ahead on the often-dangerous streets of Harlem all throughout the 1960s. A decade later, Ray is now a landlord who has put fencing behind him, is living the clean life and is proud of himself and family’s accomplishments. When his teenage daughter May asks him to score Jackson 5 tickets, Ray makes a big mistake and nonchalantly attempts to call in favor to get them. He calls Munson, a dirty cop who agrees to help Ray, but instead draws him into a deadly night filled with stolen diamonds, a poker game robbery and murder. As Ray slips back into the criminal lifestyle, he partners up with longtime family friend Pepper. A violent career criminal, Pepper, like Ray, has lines he won’t cross, and others he is happy to rationalize stepping over. As the rules of the City begin to change around them, the two men question what keeps them in the game, as their misadventures continue in this series of vignettes, from 1971 through 1976.

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead is his second book in a planned “Harlem” trilogy featuring Ray Carney. Like it’s prequel, Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto is a darkly humorous crime caper with emotion and heart. This series drips with New York City atmosphere and the vernacular of the era, and buzzes with foreboding that Ray and Pepper have started down very dark paths indeed. This reader can’t wait to see how it all wraps up. Treat yourself and listen to the audio versions of Harlem Shuffle and Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead, both read by the magnificent Dion Graham. You can find digital versions to place on hold and download, as well as other books by Whitehead here.

Keep reading.

-Carol

Book Review: None of This is True

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Josie Fair is a part-time seamstress. She is married to Walter, a much, much older man and the two lead a very private, eccentric life and have little contact with outsiders. On a rare night out in celebration of her 45th birthday, Josie meets Alix, a successful podcast host who was born on the exact same day and hospital as her. Josie has decided it is time for a change and believes that fate has brought the two women together so that Alix can help her do just that. She attempts to befriend Alix and asks her to interview her as the subject of her next podcast.

Meanwhile, Alix is intrigued by this quirky stranger and believes she has quite a tale to tell. She quickly agrees to hosting an interview at her home studio. But after a few interviews, Josie begins to insert herself into Alix’s life, by stopping over unannounced and commenting on Alix’s marriage. It is not long before Alix begins to regret her choice. And, as she begins to uncover Josie’s dark secrets and what she is capable of, Alix is about to find out how big of a mistake that choice really was.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell is a page turning, addictive psychological fiction told from Josie’s and Alix’s alternating points of view, as well as excerpts from Alix’s “Hi I’m Your Birthday Twin” podcast and documentary. If you are a fan of very dark and chilling, suspenseful fiction with unreliable narrators, this book is for you. Place your hold today.

-Carol

Book Review: Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead

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Gilda is 27-years-old, loves animals, is a lesbian and an atheist. Gilda is very depressed, suffers from anxiety and hypochondria and has reoccurring thoughts about death and the pointlessness of life. As a result, she has been avoiding day-to-day essential activities like cleaning her apartment, showering and showing up to work, and her personal relationships are disasters. After she loses her latest job, she finally decides to seek help. But when Gilda ventures into a Catholic church that advertises therapy sessions, she is misunderstood and is instead hired as their new office secretary. Gilda must now pretend she’s straight and Catholic in order keep a job she didn’t know she wanted.

Despite this recent “good” fortune, Gilda’s problems still feel insurmountable. When she learns that Grace, the elderly lady who previously held her job, has died and may have been murdered, Gilda becomes obsessed by the idea of learning the truth.

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin is a moving portrayal of its character’s struggles with mental illness and loneliness, and at the same time, also is a laugh-out-loud, quirky story that buzzes with a frenetic energy that makes it impossible to put down. This quick read allows a peek into the mind of a person suffering from mental illness as they try and find a way out of their despair, and it brings the reader out the other side with empathy. Place your hold for this amazing novel today.

-Carol

Book Review: My Murder

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Lou, short for Louise, is the most recent victim of serial killer Edward Early. Early has been arrested and is incarcerated for life. 

But, strangely enough, Lou is alive. Deemed worthy of a second chance by public outcry, Lou and the four other women Early murdered have been brought back to life as clones, reanimated through a governmental project. Now, they meet weekly as members of a serial killer’s survivors group as they acclimate to their former lives.

Lou mostly feels like she is same person as she was before her murder, and knows she should be happy for her second chance, but this new life feels unstable. And there are holes in her memory. What happened in the weeks leading up to the night of her murder? Why did her former self have a bag packed hidden in her closet? Can she trust the government agency responsible for her renewed life? Can she trust her husband? 

As Lou searches for answers, she examines her complicated feelings about her new role as a mother, how victims and killers are sensationalized in the media, and the idea of reinventing oneself.

My Murder by Katie Williams is set in the near-future and is a genre-bending mystery novel with twists and turns, strong female characters, dark humor, and a surprising and satisfying conclusion. You’ll want to read this super-creative, original novel in one sitting. Place your hold today. 

-Carol

Spectacular Historical Fiction

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It’s 1956, and 19-year-old Marion Brooks is living with her widowed father and sister in Bronxville, New York, teaching ballet to children. Marion has always dreamed of becoming a professional dancer but knows it is her father’s wish for her to marry and settle down. When she learns that Radio City Music Hall is looking for new Rockettes, Marion secretly auditions, is selected and decides to take the job – even though she is promptly kicked out of her father’s house. Work begins immediately and complex routines need to be learned and then performed, perfectly synchronized four times a day. Marion is exhausted but exhilarated, happy to be living her dream and making fast friends with her dance troupe. Deep down, though, she wishes for her family’s support.

Meanwhile, New York City is under attack. For sixteen years, the “Big Apple Bomber” has been planting bombs in crowded public places, causing mayhem, and eluding the police. The night the bomb explodes in Radio City Music Hall, Marion witnesses it firsthand from the stage as it takes away someone she loves. She also is witness to the suspicious man who she believes planted the bomb. When the police turn away her assistance, Marion enlists the help of her blind-date Peter Griggs, a psychiatric resident at a local hospital who is interested in the new art of criminal profiling, to find the bomber.

If you are in the mood for engrossing, well-researched historical fiction that brings the glitz and glamour of Radio City, theatre, and New York alive, pick up this perfect blend of family drama, a suspenseful murder mystery and a smidge of romance. Aptly named, The Spectacular by Fiona Davis is so good, it just might make you dance with joy.

-Carol

Set the Stage for Summer Reading

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Happily married schoolteacher Amy Trevino lives in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Amy is ready to enjoy her summer break, spending time with her daughter Sam, a former Disney star turned disgraced TikTok influencer, who has finally returned home. Amy doesn’t even care what secret Sam is hiding from her and promises not to google her.

Amy’s brother, famous actor Timothy Fleming is also home for the summer, a short ferry ride away on nearby Block Island. Timothy, in town to direct a production of “Much Ado About Nothing,” secretly fears he is washed up.

When Timothy asks always-reliable Amy to step in to manage the production, old resentments resurface. Amy has never gotten over walking in her famous brother’s shadow and the fact he whisked her daughter away to Hollywood at a young age –not to mention his absence when their mother died. With tensions already high, Sam asking to stay with her Uncle Timothy in his rented home rather than with her parents’ sets the stage for a rough opening night indeed.

Summer Stage by Meg Mitchell Moore transports its readers to the beaches of Rhode Island, and is filled with family drama, secrets and love. Fans of Elin Hilderbrand should place their hold today and get ready for the beach.

-Carol

Book Review : The Soulmate

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Pippa and Gabe Gerard are a gorgeous, happily married couple – the type that everyone envies. They have two beautiful daughters and live in a cliff-side cottage outside of Melbourne, with amazing ocean views and a dramatic drop down to the jagged rocks below. Unfortunately, this dramatic spot attracts all sorts of attention – the worst being people who come there to end their lives. Gabe has talked seven people down from the drop since moving there a few years previously, and the local paper declares him a hero.

Things change the day Amanda Cameron comes to the cliff. After talking with Gabe, she falls to her death. Gabe is more than a little shaken afterwards, and Pippa begins to suspect foul play. When Pippa learns that Gabe has a past connection to Amanda, she begins to question to how well she truly knows her husband, her supposed soulmate, after all.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth is perfectly executed domestic suspense that you will want to clear your schedule for. Alternating between the past and present and told from both Pippa and Amanda’s perspectives, this novel slowly peels away layers as it exposes the flaws in both women’s marriages. The Soulmate explores the ideas of fidelity and loyalty and will keep you on edge of your seat the until its satisfying end. Place your hold today.

-Carol

Book Review : Go As a River

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After the death of her mother, Torie Nash, a teenager in the 1940s, runs the household on her family’s successful peach farm in Iola, Colorado. Torie’s life is consumed by backbreaking work and caring for her father, brother and uncle, until her head is turned by drifter Wilson Moon, a Native American displaced from his tribal land. Torie is drawn to Wilson’s unique perspective and beauty, but soon discovers that the small-minded neighbors in her small town don’t appreciate people who are different – or those who associate with them. When tragedy occurs, Torie makes a decision that will that forever change the course of her life.

Based on a true historical event––the intentional flooding and destruction of the town of Iola, Colorado, Go As a River by Shelley Read explores the ideas of home, racism and the loss of childhood and innocence. Set against the often-harsh landscape of mountains and forests that eventually become Torie’s home, this beautifully descriptive and sometimes heartbreaking novel will be enjoyed by fans of Where the Crawdads Sing. Place your hold today.

-Carol

A Perfectly Plotted Puzzler

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Steven Smith has a heartbreaking story. A difficult upbringing sent him down the wrong path and he ended up in prison for ten years, due to his involvement with the notorious criminal Harrison family. Upon his release, Steven becomes obsessed with the disappearance of Miss Iles, a former teacher who went missing after taking his class on a field trip 40 years previously. Steven believes that on that trip, Miss Iles was investigating prolific children’s author, Edith Twyford and a secret code she supposedly had written into her books. Steven also believes that if the code is solved, it will lead to hidden treasure. When Steven goes missing searching for that treasure, all that remains are audio files that have been recovered from his iPhone 4.

Written in transcript form, this unique mystery lets the reader follow along Steven’s many misadventures as he investigates and finds other people who are searching for the code and even more who will stop at nothing to keep him from it.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallet is a multilayered read that will thrill fans of puzzles, acrostics and word play. Place your hold today and prepare to be amazed.

-Carol