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an immensely readable book rich in period detail, great dialogue, and satisfying elements of love, mystery

Reading Lists Six More Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West, Six Historical Fiction Mysteries

Looking for Jane is a story of women living in three timelines who are linked through decades by a mysterious

Her clever behind-the-scenes revelations catch the eye of the darkest and most mysterious villain of

01 Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams Williams's historical fiction mystery--based on real-life

their mesmerizing lead singer Daisy, the group's complicated interpersonal conflicts, and the band's mysterious

In this science fiction novel, Mandel plays with time and time travel as well as mysteries surrounding

Notice, Browder traces his path from Wall Street to the Soviet Union after its breakup--and the crimes, mysteries

After long months of mystery and suffering, she received a diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia and a rare Kate Quinn is a master of historical fiction and is the author of the fantastic titles The Huntress,

and he's got two dead crewmates, a chatty AI robot caregiver, a lot of complicated equipment, and a mysterious

incredible genetic cloning advancements--but people have noticed that her husband has recently been mysteriously

There's a low-key mystery Lexie is set on unraveling (key players are keeping secrets about events from

Greedy Reading Lists: Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved in the Past Year Six Historical Fiction Mysteries

Have you read any or all of these magical young adult mysteries related to royalty?

Alexandra Andrews's twisty-turny mystery about a reclusive author and the ambitious assistant she takes Fisher is candid, funny, charmingly offbeat, and she's mastered the art of honest self-examination. factors of bloodthirsty vengeance and war between Languoreth's husband and his allies and Lailoken's master

band-centered stories, but luckily for us readers, I seem to be dead wrong, because so many authors are masters their mesmerizing lead singer Daisy, the group's complicated interpersonal conflicts, and the band's mysterious

found I've been resisting reading this year's Troubled Blood, the newest book in the Cormoran Strike mystery

#LGBTQ, #youngadult, #mysterysuspense, #dysfunctionalfamily, #twostarbookreview

The Heiress is set on a North Carolina estate that's always felt claustrophobic to Cam. But his adoptive mother Ruby, an infamous character and four-time widow, was determined for him to inherit the McTavish riches. As the truths of Ruby's past become clear to the reader, additional layers of unexpected secrets begin to unfurl. When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she's North Carolina's richest woman--and its most infamous. Ruby was the victim of a childhood kidnapping that turned the community of Tavistock on its head, and since then her power has grown--as has her list of dead husbands (four). She reigns high in the Blue Ridge Mountains, on her lavish estate. But her adopted son Camden is living in Colorado with his wife in a modest rental home, teaching school, and firmly determined to reject his sizeable inheritance along with the McTavish family--who are still living in the mansion--and anything to do with Ruby. After Ruby's death, strange murmurings about her past begin to surface, and Cam is forced to face questions about inheritance, legacy, and family ties that reach beyond the grave. The story is told partially through illuminating letters from Ruby laying out the unflinching facts of her past actions. When Cam returns to North Carolina to sort out the mansion's repairs, tensions run high with his cold aunt and two outrageously behaved cousins. And it becomes clear to the reader that his estranged family and Cam's beloved wife Jules aren't the only ones keeping secrets--Cam himself has been hiding some essential truths as well. As in the other Hawkins novels I've read, the story's relationships, hidden truths, and setting feel like the main elements; character development isn't a crucial part of the story's progression. Yet I felt I was enough a part of the characters' inner circle to feel a twinge of betrayal when they revealed their secrets to readers--even if they did not always come clean to each other. The Heiress has a satisfying ending that also retains some of the story's intrigue among the main characters. I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Hawkins is also the author of The Villa, Reckless Girls, and The Wife Upstairs.

Hillier's thriller jumps back and forth in time, deftly weaving a web of secrets and lies, daring escape, broken trust, revenge, and things that aren't quite as they seem. ...and so this was her life, because it had always been her life, and it would either kill her, or she would survive it. Paris Peralta is arrested in her home bathroom. She's holding a straight razor and covered in blood, and her celebrity husband Jimmy Peralta, a 68-year-old comedian who's been making a recent comeback--is dead in the bathtub with a cut across his femoral artery. Paris loved her husband, and she's shocked and grieved that he's dead. But she's also alert enough to know that because of the inevitable publicity, the fiction of her current life--a peaceful, comfortable life that she spent so long cultivating--is about to be upended, and her safety along with it. Because when photos surface of Paris being taken away in handcuffs, she knows that dark forces from her past will almost certainly come calling. Because while you can reinvent yourself, you can’t outrun yourself. As a woman once reminded her a long time ago, the common denominator in all the terrible things that have happened to you is you. Meanwhile, killer Ruby Reyes, the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder twenty-five years earlier. She knows who Paris Peralta really is, and when Ruby is released from prison early, she's more than willing to try to sacrifice Paris and destroy her careful web of lies. Jennifer Hillier weaves a gripping story that jumps back in forth in time from when Paris was a young victim to her present, in which she's taken charge of her life and controls her destiny--or so she thought. Things We Do in the Dark involves mistaken identities, betrayals, secrets and lies, fierce loyalty between friends who are like family--and horrific cruelties enacted by blood relations. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I received a prepublication digital edition of this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. Jennifer Hillier is also the author of Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts.

#mysterysuspense, #southern, #fourstarbookreview 04 Utopia Avenue ​ In Utopia Avenue, Mitchell takes What should I add to my completely unmanageable master Greedy Reading List of books to read?

#mysterysuspense, #southern, #fourstarbookreview

#mysterysuspense, #gothicnoir, #booksaboutbooks, #unreliablenarrator, #ghosts, #spooky, #hauntedhouse

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry's newest light fiction novel about best friends and polar opposites Poppy and Alex on their annual vacation; Now You Say Yes, Bill Harley's irresistible middle-grade novel about orphans on a cross-country journey as they desperately try to stay together as a family; and Don't Look for Me, Wendy Walker's suspenseful, character-driven novel about a mother coping with the worst grief imaginable while a lurking evil endangers key characters' safety. Which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms? 01 People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry In Emily Henry's newest novel People We Meet on Vacation, best friends and polar opposites Alex and Poppy are on their annual vacation. Poppy is impulsive and fun-loving, and Alex would generally rather stay home and read than seek out adventure. The pair has long been emotionally inseparable despite living in different cities--Poppy in New York and Alex in their small hometown. But two years ago on their vacation, something BIG happened. It threatened their friendship and continues to loom over everything between them. They haven't talked about any of it, but Poppy has convinced Alex to join her again on vacation to try to recapture their effortless times together. Surely, she thinks, they can fix everything in a week. She'll just push down her strange feelings about Alex and pretend that fateful time never even happened. This is already feeling like a will they/won't they story I'll love. Henry's Beach Read was a favorite book of mine last year, and it made it into the Greedy Reading List Six Lighter Fiction Stories for Great Escapism. 02 Now You Say Yes by Bill Harley In Bill Harley's newest work, the middle-grade novel Now You Say Yes, we follow newly orphaned fifteen-year-old Mari and her on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Connor, as they strike out on a cross-country journey in a desperate attempt to avoid foster care. Mari, who finds that she's tough in the face of adversity, is bent on staying with her brother, preserving the only family they each have left. But she's not legally an adult, and she doesn't have many options of who she can rely on to keep them safe. Harley's story about loyalty, loss, and pushing forward is beautiful; it's sometimes heartbreaking and consistently lovely. 03 Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker Molly Clarke is dealing with bottomless grief. Her youngest daughter died in an unthinkable accident, and for Molly, making her way through each day is like wading through waters threatening to drown her. So she walks away--from her distant husband, her always-furious oldest daughter, her absent middle son, her broken life, and her relentless pain. At least, that's what the clues left behind seem to indicate. But the truth of what has occurred is horrible, terrifying, twisty--and fascinating. Walker's premise is difficult to read and experience on the page, but the character depth, exploration of grief, and self-actualization she offers in Don't Look for Me is pleasantly surprising and continues to build and grow. I'm flying through this tale and can't wait to find out what's what.

#mysterysuspense, #southern, #gothicnoir, #threestarbookreview

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The People We Keep, Allison Larkin's upcoming novel about a young protagonist shaping her life through songwriting and finding human connection; Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid's newest book about siblings surfing and forging their own paths on the coast of California; and Dark Roads, Chevy Stevens's suspenseful novel, out next week, about young women going missing in British Columbia. Which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms? 01 The People We Keep by Allison Larkin In Allison Larkin's upcoming novel The People We Keep, April is struggling. She's failing out of school, working some shifts at a diner, and living in a nonfunctioning motorhome that her father won in a poker game--in a town where she's never felt like she belongs. A borrowed car and an open mic night open up new possibilities while a fight with her dad sharpens her focus on leaving. So April heads out on the road with few expectations aside from changing the course of her life. She meets new people along the way and must decide whether to open her heart to them or to keep up her guard; she considers what she truly wants from her life; and she writes songs to cope with and interpret the world around her. I received a prepublication digital copy of this title courtesy of Gallery Books and NetGalley. 02 Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Although her tennis pro husband's recent infidelity with a famous tennis player is putting a damper on things, in Malibu, California, famous model and skilled surfer Nina Riva--the daughter of legendary crooner Mick Riva--is about to throw her end-of-summer party. Malibu Rising tracks each hour leading up to and into the wee hours of the legendary party (and this year's unforgettable end), while interspersing scenes from the past, including Nina's parents' tangled love story, Nina's youth, her famous surfer/photographer siblings' stories, and others. As the party spins out of control, secrets of all kinds are revealed and key characters must each determine their paths as they find themselves at crucial forks in the roads of their lives. Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of Daisy Jones & the Six, a book I included in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music. 03 Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens Chevy Stevens's Dark Roads is set in the wilderness and rugged terrain of British Columbia, along a highway where unsuspecting women traveling alone go missing from time to time--yet a predator never seems to be brought to justice. Teen Hailey McBride's father always taught her to be self-sufficient, to hunt, to stay tough, and to never drive Cold Creek Highway by herself. Now that he's gone, she's at the mercy of her aunt's controlling police officer husband, and Hailey decides to disappear into the wild in the desperate hope that the community assumes she's been taken by the highway killer and gives her up for dead. When Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to try to track down her sister, who disappeared from the area, she unwittingly becomes a potential target herself--while inadvertently drawing attention to the truth about Hailey's disappearance. I received a prepublication digital copy of this title courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

#mysterysuspense, #series, #historicalfiction, #london, #fourstarbookreview

Young adult Josie's origins--specifically her immaculate conception--have overshadowed everything else in her life. Now she must delve into the darkness of her history to try to save her mother--and uncover her own true identity. Young adult Josie is Girl One, the first of nine baby girls who were famously conceived without male sperm years ago on the now-dismantled commune The Homestead. Josie has spent her life plagued by criticism, misogyny, obsessed fans, and the weight of the fascinating, unusual circumstances of her conception. Yet she embraces her past and aims to further the scientific work of her deceased father figure, the director of the scientific advancements achieved on the commune, Dr. Joseph Bellanger. Josie's studies and desire to learn more about her "virgin birth" drive a wedge between Josie and her mother, and Josie isn't sure exactly why. When her mother disappears, Josie begins to track down the other Girls, and together the young women discover strange, unique powers as they rely on each other and attempt to unravel their shared history. They're learning to trust that the circumstances of their creation do not determine their full identities--or what they're capable of. Murphy presents the Girls as they emerge in all of their feminist, powerful glory. The men in their world are cruel, powerful, and frequently evil, but when they band together, the girls' superhuman abilities repeatedly shield them from the most grave danger--and unlock remarkable freedom for each of the women long plagued by their complicated histories. The journey isn't too easy, there are some identity realizations, love connections, and plot twists, and the ending of Girl One satisfied me. I received a prepublication digital edition of this book through Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Girl One reminded me at times of Body of Stars, but this book held together more successfully for me, and I believed in the characters and their situations more completely. Both of the books felt like young adult reads to me.

Maud Dixon offers clever twists and turns and presents interesting gray areas about the roles of hero and villain. A twisty and turny, compelling read. "By its nature, every secret contains the power to destroy something." Florence Darrow is from small-town Florida, and her aspirations for her life are ambitious yet vague. She feels destined for greatness but not necessarily special enough to make the splash she'd like to in the world--at least not yet. When she implodes her publishing career on a destructive whim, then lucks into a position as a personal assistant to the reclusive, anonymous, bestselling author with the pen name of Maud Dixon, Florence can't believe it--everything is starting to fall into place. "Maud" strikes Florence as an oddball genius, and Florence is just trying to soak up all the culture and knowledge she can as she plans to finally write her own bestseller. That is, until it becomes clear that things with Maud--and with Maud's professional and private situation--aren't at all what they seem. During a research trip to Morocco, weighty questions about identity, reality, motives, and events of the past threaten the lives of both women. This book reminded me a little bit of my recent read The Plot, but Maud Dixon had clever twists and turns that I didn't see coming and offers interesting gray areas regarding the roles of hero and villain. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I need to talk Maud Dixon with someone who's read it! Did you see things going in the direction they did? Did you suspect certain characters of duplicity--and did you believe they would be able to go through with their plans?

This is a fast, compelling read, and I tore through it at top speed to find out the Big Reveals. I predicted some of the story, but other aspects were wonderfully shocking. This book made me verrry nervous. Reading about lying and stealing makes me very stressed out, so I was biting my nails while reading Korelitz's story. Jacob Finch Bonner (he added the "Finch" himself once his aspirations to become a writer became all-encompassing) wrote a well-received first book as a young man, but now he's nearing middle age and his career has fizzled. He teaches writing at a third-tier university and isn't even working on anything new--not that any agents or publishers are particularly interested. An obnoxiously confident student who's cagey about what he feels is a slam-dunk bestseller book idea reluctantly confides in Bonner about his plot concept. When the student abruptly dies soon afterward without publishing his book, Bonner banks on the probability that the young man hadn't entrusted details about his book to anyone else. He decides to take a risk: he'll use his student's concept and aim to create a bestseller of his own. He's writing the whole thing himself. So he's not stealing, right? It's completely fine. Everything is going to be fine. You can't copyright a plot anyway, right? RIGHT? Do you think this terrible decision-making comes back to haunt Jacob Finch Bonner? Yes, bookworms. YES, IT DOES. And my heart raced while I read to find out if this fraught situation would blow up in fantastic form. I didn't predict the plot within the plot before it was alluded to (about 60 percent of the way through the book), and I found it deliciously chilling. I did, however, anticipate other key elements of the story from pretty early on. I also wasn't sure that certain driving forces of Korelitz's story made sense (why would anyone in this scenario harass Bonner rather than leaving the situation alone, unless it was clearly revenge?). But this is a fast, compelling read, and there was no chance I wasn't going to tear through it at top speed to find out the Big Reveals. Korelitz prods at the question of the ownership of ideas while taking readers down the uncomfortable path of a protagonist who steals, feels terrible guilt, rationalizes his actions, and emerges with defensive self-righteousness. Ironically, Bonner's theft opens the door to romantic love and building trust with others in his life, and to a more open and heartfelt relationship with his parents, along with his incredible professional success. I received a prepublication copy of this book, published May 11, 2021, courtesy of NetGalley and Celadon Books. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? My mom told me about a movie with a plot centering around a stolen book idea, The Words (starring Bradley Cooper and Dennis Quaid, so I believe I need to watch this immediately). I wonder how that story might compare to this one? Korelitz is also the author of The Undoing, Admission (I read and really liked that one), and other books.

I thought Wrobel's tone was masterful; it wasn't clear who was manipulating the situation and who was #mysterysuspense, #dysfunctionalfamily, #fourstarbookreview

In this gothic Victorian tale, Waters offers a slow build to heartbreak, twists and double twists, hesitant attempts at love, and, finally, clarity and satisfying revenge. Sue Trinder is a teenage orphan, the daughter of a hanged murderess who tries to live up to her fearless mother's bravery and strength. She's being raised in a household of cheats, thieves, and generally crooked characters. Yet she's been largely sheltered from the evils of the underbelly of Victorian London by her unofficial, doting adoptive mother, Mrs. Sucksby. But when one of their group, Gentleman, comes up with a large-scale con, suddenly the makeshift family's potential fortune depends heavily on Sue. She's asked to play the role of maid to an unassuming, wealthy young woman in a dastardly plot to take the woman's inheritance and leave her to rot in an insane asylum. When Sue meets Maud and begins dressing her, caring for her, and trying to manipulate her into the con, what seemed like a simple plan becomes more complicated and fraught. Meanwhile, Maud's bristly uncle, a strict man of books who has raised his niece primarily to assist him in his research and work, is at the center of a widespread web of debauchery. Maud's unusual upbringing--an emotionally cold life, steeped in lascivious writings--has left her both innocent to the workings of the outside world and also closely acquainted with the details of intimacies with which most young ladies of the time would likely be unfamiliar. Fingersmith is a delightfully dark, often menacing Victorian-era gothic tale. I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was such a slow build, I was both eager for it to ramp up in pacing and very hesitant about finding out where things were going. There's a descent-into-madness aspect that's made more powerful by Waters's measured, sometimes sluggish tempo. I was on the verge of becoming impatient, but Waters masterfully draws out the sinister threads of the story until they're taut and ready to snap, and ultimately I was in for it. I wasn't certain how Waters would resolve the layers of deceit, secrets, and desires for revenge at play here. The story offers heartbreak, twists and double twists, hesitant attempts at unorthodox love (I recall one reader referring to this as "lesbian Dickens," but it wasn't quite that to me), and, finally, clarity and satisfying revenge. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Waters is also the author of Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, and The Night Watch. I'm eager to read these as well. I wasn't as big a fan of Waters's The Paying Guests as I was of Fingersmith.

McLain had me hooked on the vivid Northern California setting, imperfect Anna's rich and rocky history--and her messy road toward a version of personal redemption. Anna is a San Francisco missing persons detective in denial about the fact that her job has overtaken her personal life for years. When she experiences a personal tragedy, she flees to the Northern California of her childhood--a place she's avoided since her teens. She arrives hoping for anonymity and an escape to the woods to grieve and be alone, but she quickly finds out that a young local woman has gone missing. Old friends resurface, pulling Anna out of herself, and when other young girls go missing, the pull of finding the girls is irresistible to her. Minor nitpicks: I wasn't sure Anna would provide parenting advice and hindsight-based tips to Emily at such a fraught time, and I felt like Anna would have been periodically more crushed and paralyzed by her own recent trauma. I love the trope of a reluctant, imperfect hero, and Anna is both. McLain had me completely hooked on the vivid setting, Anna's rich and rocky history, her search for answers--and a messy road toward a version of personal redemption. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? McLain is also the author of Circling the Sun (a captivating account of the real-life Beryl Markham's adventures as an aviator in 1920s Kenya) and The Paris Wife (which somehow I still haven't read). I received a prepublication edition of this book (published today) courtesy of Random House and NetGalley.

Heard's young adult thriller was a lightning-fast read, and there's a yearning for connection between the two main protagonists that feels real and true. Heard's young adult thriller follows the twists and turns at the intersection of three volatile young people--bored photographer Veronica; her best friend, mischievous performance art rebel Nico; and their new friend, Mick, who hasn't quite found her place in the world outside of being a competitive swimmer. Mick, whose mother is emotionally unavailable (and barely physically present), has a lot to figure out and responsibilities weighing her down, meanwhile Veronica is pushing Mick past her comfort level into vulnerability. The girls fall hard for each other--but they've built their early relationship on lies that could destroy their possibility of true intimacy. With Nico's troublemaking and incessant challenges to the status quo serving as a catalyst for fast-paced changes, everything begins to spiral out of control, threatening the girls' safety and the community around them. Veronica and Mick will have to figure out if they can trust each other with their lives. I loved the girls' young love, but I was haunted by the fact that their relationship seemed doomed because of its basis in lies. Heard allows the teens to make realistically messy mistakes and experience devastating betrayals, but to also bravely try to trust each other again. The stakes quickly ratchet up up up in She's Too Pretty to Burn so that the characters find themselves making life-and-death decisions, and their missteps aren't without serious consequences. This was a lightning-fast read for me, and while the young people's circumstances build to be almost outlandishly complicated and disastrous, Heard presents what feels like a true yearning for connection between the two main protagonists, and that kept me hooked for anything else she threw at me. I was haunted by how Mick's desperate situation and lack of options pushed her to say yes to uncomfortable compromises and take part in things she would likely otherwise have avoided. I received a prepublication edition of this book (published March 30) courtesy of Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? She's Too Pretty to Burn is a fast read and I was in for all of it. Heard is also the author of adult thrillers The Kill Club and Hunting Annabelle, and she co-hosts the Unlikeable Female Characters podcast.

And if not, does he have self-mastery to take a loss, stay cool in defeat, and try again undaunted?

Miranda uses the framework of a famous fictional rescue story to imagine the characters' turmoil and desperate coping mechanisms, crafting a fascinating look at the depths beneath their surfaces. When they say: The girl from Widow Hills, remember? What they were reaching back for weren’t your memories—they were their own. That girl is frozen in time, with her beginning, middle, and end: victim, endurance, triumph. It was a good story. A good feeling. A good ending. Fade to black. As if, when the daily news moved on, and the articles ended, and the conversations turned, it was all over. As if it weren’t just beginning. Arden Maynor was a small child when she sleepwalked into a storm and was washed away. Three days later, she was recovered in a miraculous series of events that ended up with her rescue and removal from a storm drain. "The girl from Widow Hills" was instantly famous and would be forever. Anniversaries of the event, her mother's book about the experience, and a community that wouldn't allow her to forget--all of these drove Arden to move and then move again, eventually changing her name to Olivia, leaving behind her mother--who was slowly destroyed by the fame and relentless attention--and led Olivia to speak of the experience to no one in an attempt to become someone without the yoke of that sensational story. Now Olivia is sleepwalking again, and she can't be entirely sure what she does in the night. Someone from her past has resurfaced, and he could reveal her carefully hidden secrets and ruin everything. When evidence of brutal violence emerges close to home, Olivia wonders if someone is protecting her or possibly seeking some kind of revenge--and if that someone might even be Olivia herself. I found the ending of the book gloriously terrifying. The last few pages felt a little disjointed from the story and odd. But the familiar echoes of a story like "baby Jessica in the well," the media frenzy, and the public's emotional investment were a intriguing framework for Miranda's story. She takes a famous fictional rescue story and imagines the characters' turmoil and desperately cobbled-together coping mechanisms, crafting a fascinating look at the depths beneath. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? My book club heard Miranda talk about this book at a virtual library foundation event in the fall, and she hooked us on the story. She's also the author of All the Missing Girls, which I thought was interesting in its structure (it begins in the present day after a series of disturbing events and works backward in time chapter by chapter), as well as The Perfect Stranger and The Last House Guest. I mentioned this book (along with The Fate of the Tearling and I Was Told It Would Get Easier) in the Greedy Reading List Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/17/21 Edition.

French offers a gloriously unlikely friendship, traces the dangers ricocheting through a sometimes claustrophobic small community, and finally offers answers and a path forward, if not clean and clear resolutions. What do I love more than a Tana French book, a retired detective story, or an Irish setting? Nothing. There is nothing I love more than any of these setups, except all three in one. I saved French's newest book to savor it over the holidays. When The Searcher begins, retired cop Cal Hooper has moved from Chicago, the site of his complicated career, his terrible divorce, and everything he knows, to the peace and quiet of rural Ireland. He's trying to keep his head down, work on his dilapidated house, get an occasional beer at the pub, not get forced into a romantic setup by a busybody neighbor, and adopt a good little mutt. He's got no jurisdiction and isn't interested in carrying any responsibility for police work anymore anyway. But when a skittish young boy with nowhere else to turn asks him for help, Cal finds that he can't refuse. French offers a gloriously unlikely friendship, traces the dangers ricocheting through a sometimes claustrophobic small community, and finally offers answers and a path forward, if not clean and clear resolutions. Any Bossy thoughts on this book? French is the author of six books in the Dublin Murder Squad series: In the Woods, The Likeness (my absolute favorite of hers), Faithful Place, The Trespasser, Broken Harbor, and The Secret Place, plus the stand-alone Witch Elm. I mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List Three Books I'm Reading Now, 12/22/20.

01 The Searcher by Tana French What do I love more than a Tana French book, a retired detective story, or an Irish setting? Nothing. There is nothing I love more than any of these setups, except all three in one. I've been saving French's newest book because I've had such high hopes that it would be stellar, so my fingers are crossed. Retired cop Cal Hooper moves from Chicago, the site of his complicated career, his terrible divorce, and everything he knows, to the peace and quiet of rural Ireland. He's trying to keep his head down, work on his dilapidated house, get an occasional beer at the pub, not get forced into a romantic setup by a busybody neighbor, and adopt a good little mutt. He's got no jurisdiction and isn't interested in carrying any responsibility for police work anymore anyway. But when a skittish young boy with nowhere else to turn asks him for help, Cal finds that he can't refuse. French is the author of six books in the Dublin Murder Squad series: In the Woods, The Likeness (my absolute favorite of hers), Faithful Place, The Trespasser, Broken Harbor, and The Secret Place, plus the stand-alone Witch Elm. 02 One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus Five loosely linked Bayview High students walk into detention on Monday afternoon, all busted for having phones in class. The phones in question didn't belong to them, so none of them should even be there. But before they can put together the pieces and determine who might have wanted to get them all together in that room, one of them is dead. The gossip site run by the deceased student made him detested and feared. And he was about to publish some juicy, devastating tidbits about each of his detention partners. Did one of them want so desperately to stop him that they would kill to keep him quiet? In this first book in the One of Us Is Lying series, McManus takes us through each of the suspects in their own points of view. I love an unreliable narrator setup like this, and I'm listening to this as an audiobook so I like that I hear each character's voice. I can't wait to find out the big reveal. Also, my teenager already read this and is peppering me with questions about what's happening and what I think is happening, so I need to finish it quickly so we can discuss it. 03 In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren Twentysomething Mae is spending the holidays yet again with her parents' college friends and their families. She's not satisfied in her job, she's unhappily single, she still lives with her parents--and she just kissed the wrong boy, the younger brother of her true obsession. In despair about having had a rotten holiday and about the mistakes she feels she's made, Mae makes a plea to the universe to show her what would truly make her happy. Suddenly she's plunged back in time to begin the holiday anew and try to get things right, Groundhog Day-style. In a Holidaze feels like a romantic holiday read that might be perfect for this pre-Christmas week. I reviewed Lauren's The Unhoneymooners a couple of weeks ago. The author duo also wrote the fun and romantic Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating as well as Love and Other Words and the lovely, lovely Autoboyography. What are you reading now? I'm so excited about each of these books. French's book is starting off really strong, and One of Us Is Lying has me hooked. I'm fighting a little irritation at the moment with some implausible early details in Holidaze, which I sometimes struggle with in lighter fiction. I don't anticipate having any trouble with Mae's being whisked through time, but I do want the early interpersonal setups to feel real and not contrived. I'll report back on all three of these holiday-week reads once I've finished! I hope you're managing some peaceful downtime and time to read something you love.

#timetravel, #mysterysuspense, #fantasyscifi, #fourstarbookreview

Deadly Waters was not the book I thought it was going to be. It's a revenge fantasy, but the issues at the heart of the story are real and weighty and important. Rebecca Sorley is a responsible, even-keel college student in Florida, and she's trying to get good grades, keep her scholarship, spend time with her friends--and keep an eye on her hot-tempered roommate, Ellie. Ellie's vocally open about her fury at what many of her fellow female students have to put up with from young men who won't hear no and don't treat women with respect. She's known for getting into tussles with men trying to prey upon women. But the men's behavior seems to be getting more aggressive, more entitled, and more dangerous, and Ellie can't fight off every man on behalf of every woman who needs protection. Then some of their most offensive and reportedly abusive male classmates start turning up dead--killed by alligators, but under suspicious circumstances. It's starting to seem like a vigilante killer may be on the loose, taking justice into his or her own hands. And the response from the college community isn't completely damning--young women begin speaking publicly about their attacks and attackers rather than only whispering in bathrooms to trusted friends. The women are becoming less afraid--but the young men who have behaved abominably and often criminally are rightfully growing terrified. It's starting to look to Rebecca and their other roommates as though Ellie's fight against injustice and predation might have taken a turn toward homicide. Could she--would she do such a thing? The college friends have strong bonds of loyalty; they sometimes behave impulsively; and they are appropriately young and wild at times. But the group has two young women connected closely to them who have been permanently debilitated related to attacks by men, and the women's primary concern is keeping themselves and each other safe. They sometimes have to go to great lengths to do so because everyday dangers loom around every corner in the form of men who feel entitled to use women however they want. This book was not what I thought it was going to be. I imagined that the alligator angle might make for a campy revenge fantasy. And it is revenge fantasy. But the issues Hutchison explores are very real and weighty, and there is far more meat to this story than I expected. The author builds a framework in Deadly Waters of brutalized women's fear and anger, establishes the problematic societal "conversation" between some men and women (males' groping, lewd comments, and entitlement; females' rejection presented as rude, unacceptable, or simply ignored), and she reinforces how infrequently men are prosecuted for their abusive actions. Hutchison is setting the stage for an enraged fire of backlash--and she delivers on it. The deaths are brutal, yet they do feel like some version of justice to those who have been victimized. And the homicides seems to be shifting the tide of power and changing men's behavior in general. Even the most reasonable and calm friend in the group is pushed to ask at one point, regarding suspicions that Ellie may be behind the deaths of the men, "How do I condemn Ellie for taking a terrible action--maybe taking a terrible action--when I'm so damn grateful for the results?" Deadly Waters was really interesting in ways I didn't anticipate, and I also like Hutchison's writing style very much. (A horrifying side note: did you know alligators can climb trees?!? I almost fainted when I confirmed that this was true. Make it stop. No.) I received a prepublication copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer. What did you think? Hutchison wrote The Collector series, which I haven't read, but it looks well received, and I intend to. (The Butterfly Garden is the first book.) I also saw in the author's bio that she once worked at the Renaissance Faire as a human combat chess piece, and I believe this is information that should be shared, because it is clearly amazing. I first mentioned Deadly Waters in the Greedy Reading List Three Books I'm Reading Now, 9/22/20 Edition.

after crisis erupts, situations require ingenuity, teamwork, selflessness, and a more sophisticated mastery

horrifyingly) titillated by the dark activities recounted and wild accusations raised, and the men drum up hysteria

#fantasyscifi, #alternatereality, #mysterysuspense, #fourstarbookreview

French's character- and relationship-driven mysteries keep me waiting anxiously for the twists and turns She writes literary mysteries without cheap thrills and gimmicky tricks.