7.1.2025 - The White Crow

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Michael Robotham, and second in the Philomena McCarthy series.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Philomena McCarthy has defied the odds to become a young officer with the Metropolitan Police because her father and her uncles are notorious London gangsters.  On patrol one night, Phil finds a small child hiding in a bush, covered in blood, saying she can't wake up her mother.  Close by, a jeweler has a bomb strapped to his chest in his store and millions of dollars in jewelry is gone.  These two events collide, along with her family and personal life.

While this book would work as a standalone, I would recommend reading When You Are Mine first to get the full background of the characters.  But this second one is fabulous and I was glued to the pages.  Robotham is the master of suspense, and the moral dilemma that Phil faces between her job and family just add to the tension.  Her character is fantastic because she stands up for what is right no matter the personal cost.  There are a whole slew of good characters here and you'll be feeling all the emotions and fear right alongside them.  Can't wait for more in this series!

6.29.2025 - A Change of Habit

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of this memoir by Sister Monica Clare.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Claudette Powell's childhood was tough, filled with abuse, addiction, and neglect by those charged with caring for her.  But even from an early age, she felt a religious calling to be a nun.  She went out into the secular world, was married and divorced, worked in advertising and comedy, and still felt that pull.  She found the Episcopalian church and a group of nuns living in a religious order that she longed to join.  It took much perseverance to clear all her debts and be accepted, and still her childhood issues and low self-esteem threatened.  

This is a powerful and inspiring book of a strong woman who stuck to her calling and found the perfect home.  She even pushed to get training to become a priest as well as mother superior in her order.  It's a fascinating look into both religious life and personal fortitude.  Loved the pictures as well.

6.28.2025 - Our Last Vineyard Summer

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Gallery Books for gifting me the sophomore novel by Brooke Lea Foster, author of Summer Darlings, which I also loved.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Set in dual timelines of 1964 and 1978, we follow a family of women at their family summer house on Martha's Vineyard.  In 1965, the story is mostly focused on Virgie and her relationship and marriage to Charlie, and their 3 daughters.  In 1978, the youngest daughter, Betsy, is struggling with grad school and has come back to the summer house along with her sisters after Virgie announces they must sell the house to pay off their father's debts.  What they find are family secrets, strained relationships, and facing the complicated legacy of both parents.

Well, no sophomore slump here.  I liked this one even more than her debut.  The setting is once again on the Cape Cod islands, and focuses on the strength of these women within their family and in the larger context of the times.  I really enjoyed the look back at women's rights and feminism in both of these timelines - some of it is eye-opening!  But where the book really shines is in its characters.  I so enjoyed getting to spend time with these women, as they held secrets within so as not to hurt the others.  One line really spoke to me about family relationships - "...my story is not your story.  You could write a different version of the same exact events, and they would still be true."  It was nostalgic, atmospheric, emotional and I thought it was wonderful.  It's the perfect book to pack along on your beach vacation!

6.25.2025 - El Dorado Drive

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, and Penguin Random House | Putnam Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Megan Abbott.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Harper is forced to move back in with her sister, Pam, because of financial issues.  Once there, she's surprised to see that Pam seems to be doing so well financially after a nasty divorce and her husband cleaning out their bank accounts and even the kids' money.  Pam shares her secret - a women's group called the Wheel, whose function is to lift each other up.  But when Harper and their other sister join, the sisters unleash a darkness within the group.

This is a slow burn thriller that leads up to quite the ending!  I liked the timeframe - in the 70s and 80s in Detroit after the crash of the car industry there.  It had a gritty, desperate feeling throughout when opportunities were few and people suddenly had to do without.  And just what would some people do to get money?  It was the perfect setup for groups such as Mary Kay, Amway, and the Wheel to come in and promise the world.  I liked the interaction between the sisters and Pam's daughter Vivian's storyline as well.  

6.25.2025 - All the Words We Know

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of All the Words We Know by Bruch Nash.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Rose is in her 80s, living in an assisted living facility, but she is still full of life.  She just can't always remember it.  When her friend is found dead after an apparent fall from a window, Rose is determined to uncover the truth.

Don't go into this thinking it's going to be a cozy mystery, because that's a small part of the book.  This is more a look at dementia from the inside, when someone just can't come up with the right word, so tries quite a few.  It will make you smile as Rose tries to understand the world around her, including her somewhat detached children and grandchildren.  She remembers love but not all the details.  As someone dealing with a parent with Alzheimer's, it seemed familiar in many ways, bringing some dignity to this illness, making the patient feel real and valued.  There were times when I was reading when I thought, Oh, I need to be mindful of saying things a certain way.  Creative and thoughtful.

6.25.2025 - Party of Liars

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the debut novel by Kelsey Cox.  The audiobook was fantastic because of the perfect narration by the full cast of Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, and Suzy Jackson.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4.5 stars rounded up!

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.  Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

Bravo for a wonderful debut novel and fabulous audiobook production!  I was instantly intrigued by this story, told in different POV from Sophie’s mother, stepmother, her best friend, and the nanny for Sophie’s new stepsister, as well as in an 11-hour timeline of before, during, and after the party.  These women are all keeping secrets from each other and themselves, and none is a reliable narrator.  It’s a locked-room mystery that left me questioning so many and I never saw the ending coming.  There’s even a touch of superstition and folklore, as the house has the reputation of being haunted.  I can’t wait to read more from this author!

6.24.2025 - I'll Be Right Here

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by Amy Bloom.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 3.5 stars!

In 1942 Gazala, seventeen, works for  Colette, a writer.  She immigrates alone from Paris to New York after WWII, and becomes friends with sisters Anne and Alma Cohen. Gazala’s adopted brother, Samir, later joins her and the two become lovers. These four characters become life long friends and a family to each other.

I have really liked all of the books by Amy Bloom that I have read, so I was very anxious to read her latest.  As expected, the writing was gorgeous but I struggled a bit to keep up with so many characters and many different timelines and locations.  At its heart, it's a beautiful story of found family and love in all forms.  There was a bit of a feeling though that there was a checklist nearby to include all forms that love may appear, which seemed a bit forced.  It was a short book, but felt longer because I struggled some.  It's getting good reviews, so be sure and read them as well.