Rounding the corner, folks! Are we gonna make it by the end of the year??? I know the suspense must be killing you!
In case you missed it:
(58) The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James (2022, 341 pages) (mystery/crime/thriller). Audiobook. Crime blogger Shea Collins manages to land an interview with Beth Greer, suspected but never convicted of two famous murders forty years ago. As one interview with Beth at her home turn into several more, Shea starts to since that something is wrong here in ways that go beyond Beth's being a murder suspect. A perfectly entertaining modern crime read.
(59) All's Well by Mona Awad (2021, 352 pages) (fantasy/drama/humor). Paper book. Years ago, actress Miranda Fitch suffered an accident that ended her career and marriage and left her with horrific chronic pain and painkiller dependency. Now a theater professor, she is determined to stage All's Well That Ends Well while a knot of rebellious students are scheming to do Macbeth instead. But when Miranda meets a trio of mysterious men who seem to know way too much about her, things begin to change. This book was so clever and hilariously entertaining, but as someone who has spent years and years and YEARS seeing PTs and various other medical providers to try to solve chronic physical issues, those sections also super resonated with me in ways that made me go "Uhhhh was she in the room with me?"
(60) The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda (2022, 352 pages) (mystery/drama/thriller). Audiobook. A string of unsolved disappearances has long haunted the outdoorsy Appalachian resort where Abby Lovett has lived and worked for ten years; the whole thing gets reopened when a journalist doing a story on the disappearances disappears himself. When the journalist's brother shows up searching for him and Abby finds incriminating evidence, she begins to question how much she really knows about the town and people who have been her home and friends for ten years. Megan Miranda always delivers!
(61) Mathematics for Human Flourishing by Francis Su (2020, 274 pages) (nonfiction, math, social justice). Paper book. In case you didn't know, a lot of my work is focused around social justice, equity, and inclusion in school mathematics. Su's book is a beautiful exploration of those ideas, told through the lens of a series of letters he exchanged over the years with an incarcerated man who has developed a strong interest in mathematics. This book made me a bit teary-eyed and I've already quoted it like ten times in some of my work. If you've never felt like "a math person" or even understood what that really means, it's a fantastic read.
(62) Gwendy’s Button Box (The Button Box #1) by Steven King & Richard Chizmar (2017, 171 pages) (YA, fantasy). Paper book. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has run the "Suicide Stairs" that zig zag up to Castle View. Then one day at Castle View, she meets a mysterious stranger dressed all in black, who gives her a mysterious box with several multi-colored buttons, and Gwendy's life begins to get very, very strange. I read this one in a day & it was intriguing enough that I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
(63) Platonic by Marisa G. Franco (2022, 311 pages) (nonfiction, human relations). Audiobook. Making and nurturing platonic friendships as a grown up is hard! Fortunately Marisa Franco is here to coach us through it. This was such a lovely book that devotes real energy to exploring the critical nature of platonic friendships, why it's harder to make and maintain them as an adult, and concrete tips for building and nurturing rich, satisfying (non-romantic) relationships.
(64) Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (2022, 352 pages) (crime/mystery/thriller). Audiobook. Daisy Darker doesn't see her family very often anymore, especially after what happened between her siblings and her when she was a kid. Now they are all back together under one roof for her grandmother's eightieth birthday on Halloween. When the tied goes out on the tiny private island, the family will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours--eight hours that will change everything. I think this is one of my favorite Alice Feeny books thus far. I'm not sure how or why but I saw the twist here coming from like the second chapter, AND that did not ruin the book for me! It actually just made it more interesting.
(65) The Woman In the Library by Sulari Gentill (2022, pages) (crime/mystery). Paper book. Four strangers in the Boston Public Library are thrown together when a woman's scream pierces the silence and authorities discovery a murder. One of the four is guilty--but who? This was such a unique concept and I really wanted to like it, but the writing just felt very clunky and amateurish. One of the blurbing authors described it as having lots of twists and turns and layers and revelations; I noticed later that I’d read something by that author and it was one of the worst books I’ve ever read. 😬
(66) I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney (2019, 384 pages) (crime/mystery/thriller). Audiobook. Aimee Sinclair is a quiet London actress whose star is on the rise–until she comes home the day after a fight with her husband to find him gone, leaving his shoes, wallet, and phone behind. Alternating chapters give us insight into Aimee’s traumatic and troubled childhood. Friends, this book was dark. Capital d-a-r-k DARK. The trouble is that some of the content warnings people would find helpful are major spoilers, so…not sure what to do about that. A well-written book but not my favorite Alice Feeney to date because it was so wtf out there and disturbing.
(67) The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan (2021, 352 pages) (domestic mystery/drama). Paper book. Georgina’s marriage is on the rocks and she’s still dealing with the fallout of her mother’s sudden death last year, so what she absolutely does not need right now is her seven-year-old son talking to and taking candy from someone he refers to as “new granny.” Georgina’s husband is sure “new granny” is something Cody is making up to deal with his own grief, but Georgina is not convinced. This one didn’t really do much for me but it wasn’t bad either.
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