The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading to Ann Patchett's newest novel, Tom Lake; I'm reading Ava Glass's newest spy thriller, to be published tomorrow, The Traitor; and I'm listening to the fourth installment in Deanna Raybourn's irresistible Veronica Speedwell Victorian-era mystery series, A Dangerous Collaboration.
What are you reading these days, bookworms?
01 Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
In Ann Patchett's newest novel, Tom Lake, Lara's three daughters reunite at the family's Northern Michigan orchard.
They beg her to share the story of her youthful romance and acting job alongside the now-famous Peter Duke at the theater company Tom Lake.
But when Lara shares the story of a life lived before her children existed, her daughters are led to consider their own lives and their relationship with their mother.
Patchett is also the author of This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, State of Wonder, Run, Bel Canto, The Dutch House, The Magician's Assistant, These Precious Days, and other books.
02 The Traitor (Alias Emma #2) by Ava Glass
Ava Glass's Alias Emma was a fast-paced cat-and-mouse chase across London and through an underground warren of tunnels in an elaborate effort to avoid Russian murderers. It was also a book that hit the spot and suited my mood perfectly when I read it.
Emma Makepeace returns in the second book in the series, The Traitor, and when one thing leads to another, Emma finds herself undercover on a ruthless Russian oligarch's yacht. But someone who's supposed to be on her side may have revealed her true identity to those who want her dead.
I received a prepublication edition of this book, scheduled for publication tomorrow, courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group--Ballantine, Bantam.
03 A Dangerous Collaboration (Veronica Speedwell #4) by Deanna Raybourn
I loved A Curious Beginning, the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, as well as the second book, A Perilous Undertaking, and the third, A Treacherous Curse.
Raybourn is masterful at providing a captivating main character with depth and flaws; a tantalizing will-they-won't-they tension that doesn't feel like a tease, and dialogue that makes me laugh out loud--all set against the backdrop of a Victorian-age mystery.
In this fourth book of the series, Veronica is lured by the promise of an elusive butterfly and an invitation from Lord Templeton-Vane, her partner Stoker's brother, to an estate on an island--and an unsolved disappearance that just may have been a murder.
Raybourn is also the author of the wonderful stand-alone title Killers of a Certain Age.