Three Books I'm Reading Now, 5/4/26 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

This week I'm listening to a mystery about writers tasked with competing to finish a famous author's book, The Ending Writes Itself (by V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke, published under the pseudonym Evelyn Clarke); I'm reading Jennifer Niven's story about the family stars of a long-running sitcom facing 1960s changing values and messages, Meet the Newmans; and I'm listening to Jennifer N. Brown's debut novel, historical fiction in dual timelines about modern historians and a 16th century nun who shared devastaing prophecies about Henry VIII and was executed as a result.

What are you reading, bookworms?

---

01 The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

Six authors, many strangers to each other, and each one part of the dreaded publishing "midlist"--they've never made it big enough for stardom--are invited to the private Scottish island and castle where the reclusive Arthur Fletch, bestselling mystery author, sometimes hosts salons.

But when they arrive, they find that Fletch, who had been working on a new mystery, is dead. And the book remains unfinished.

Whichever one of the invited authors writes the best ending will receive the remainder of Fletch's advance--and a multiple-book deal of their own.

But they only have 72 hours to write well enough to fight for the money and recognition they're each desperate to gain.

Evelyn Clarke is the pen name for the writing team V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke.

I'm listening to The Ending Writes Itself as an audiobook.

---

02 Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven

Del and Dinah Newman, along with their sons Guy and Shep, have been mainstays on the TV for years. Their wholesome, slightly cheesy, bighearted, clean-cut show has been easy viewing, with everything turning out all right each week and the traditional Newmans happily settled by the end of each episode.

Now it's 1964, and times are changing for women, people of color, people who are gay, and society in general. But Del and the show's sponsors are determined to plug along as they always have.

When Del suffers an accident and is unable to run the show, the rest of the Newmans make excuses to the network and sponsors--and take it upon themselves to make sure the show goes on. But Dinah, Guy, and Shep have a new direction in mind for to close out what might be the end of Meet the Newmans. And if Del wakes up, he's going to be as shocked as the sponsors that the rest of the Newmans are pushing the envelope at last.

---

03 The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown

Historian Alison Sage recently made the discovery of a lifetime--she unearthed the fabled writings detailing the prophecies of a 16th century nun, Elizabeth Barton, which had been thought to be lost forever. Barton had predicted a path to purgatory for Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn--after which she was promptly hanged and then beheaded, with her disembodied head placed upon a spike as a warning to others who might speak against the king.

The discovery of the book means Alison is invited to the exclusive Codex Consortium, where select historians gather to discuss discoveries and ideas.

But when a murder takes place on the grounds, everyone is a suspect, and the clue to the murder--and, possibly, to vast riches from Barton's era--may lie in the story of Elizabeth Barton herself.

I'm listening to The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm and St. Martin's Books.

This is Jennifer N. Brown's first novel.