Get a Clue: A Bookish Boyfriends Novel

Huck gets a chance to talk to his Knight Lights mentor's brother and it goes better than he could have predicted. Win is interested! But their attempt to become boyfriends hits a snag when Win's chance at transferring to Hero High is sabotaged. It gets worse when they discover a fake account online under Win's name that has been posting mean comments about other students. Huck knows Win isn't responsible for it, but can he prove it? If he's to crack the case, he will need to channel Sherlock Holmes.

Tiffany Schmidt incorporates Sherlock Holmes' flare into the Bookish Boyfriends world through Huck being assigned to read the mysteries and his personality reflecting the great detective's. Huck has an analytical mind, eccentricities in the way his brain works, and an addiction to caffeine that creates a fun new detective. The mystery is set in the modern day, with cyberbullying, sabotage, and scandal mixed against a backdrop of romantic comedy. Huck and Win face hurdles in their attempt to get to know each other, as Huck must dig into his possible boyfriend's mistakes to find the suspect. Get a Clue is a sweet and charming romantic comedy that pays homage to Sherlock Holmes in a story that everyone needs to brighten their day.


My Year Abroad: A Novel

The best plans take you to stunning places around the world and this summer you can take the perfect trip all without leaving your home. From a sexy adventure in Italy to a suspenseful journey in Greece, these amazing authors will take you on thought-provoking and compelling journeys. You can traipse to the city of Barcelona in a tale of longing, meet a man that doesn't exist on Frick Island, lose technology in Lincolnwood, and even dip back in time to the 2008 financial crisis. Each of these literary reads would make for the perfect summertime treat.

The Weary God of Ancient Travelers – Jessica Stilling

A suspenseful read that follows a woman with no memory except for her arrival in Santorini with a man she's drawn to trust. How can she trust this mysterious man if she doesn't even remember his name? She navigates her own mind in search of her past and identity which is a journey derailed by memories of a life that wasn't hers. Jessica Stilling sets the story among a backdrop of stunning scenes of Greece described as being almost visceral with a unique compilation of romance, mystery, and self-inspection. /The Weary God of Ancient Travelers/ is considered compelling as the story weaves between her past life to her present one and set upon descriptions of Greece that come to life off the page.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island – Colleen Oakley

Frick Island is where Piper Parrish has made home, living what's considered an almost idealistic life. The only downside to the beauty of her life is the fact that her husband Tom is dead and has been since his boat capsized. You wouldn't know such sadness has rocked Piper's life as the widow has carried on as if her husband was still alive and well. Not only does she act as if he's present for meals, taking walks to the docks with him, and keeping their regular meetings, but the entire town indulges her by pretending that nothing has changed. Enter Anders Caldwell who thought he would be a podcast star by now, instead, he's stuck writing fluff news stories. Then he gets an assignment that brings him to Frick Island where he'll cover yet another fluff piece. While he's writing about the joys of a Cake Walk fundraiser, he discovers that the entire town pretends that a dead man is still alive. This strange behavior draws him back to the island to investigate where he meets Piper and discovers more than just a story.

My Year Abroad – Chang-rae Lee

Tiller is what you'd considered being a normal student in college and is known for being good, but he has one problem. He's bored and has no interest in what college has to offer then Pong Lou enters his life. Pong is a successful Chinese American entrepreneur who quickly takes him under his wing and even takes him on an incredible trip throughout Asia. This delivers a story that is ripe with darkness, humorous, and possesses a suspenseful journey that transforms Tiller from a common student to a protege excited to see the world. His experiences throughout his vacation open his eyes to another side of himself and change how he sees Pong while crafting a new way for him to understand the world. Lee's prose is considered to be precise and elliptical, told through alternating narratives which weaves between Tiller's year abroad, his reflection upon how the trip affects his future, and the domestic life that he settles into upon returning home. His year abroad is described as riveting with a deep emotional complexity that delivers a brilliant commentary that Chang-rae Lee implores about Western attitudes and Eastern stereotypes. The story covers themes such as mental well-being, capitalism, parenthood, global trade, and being a mentor while also delving into the effects of cultural immersion through Tiller's experiences being American in China and Pong's experiences being Chinese in America.

Shaky Town – Lou Matthews

/Shaky Town/ is a timeless story that focuses on the working-class residing within Los Angeles and told in the writing style of Lou Matthews who uses his time as a street racer and mechanic reflected within the prose. The plot is told through a panoramic style that revolves around the various characters residing within a Los Angeles neighborhood and is explored through individual tales about tragedy and glory. Each of the characters is driven by their environment which features a shaky faultline with an assortment of personalities including a girl caught up in a gang war and a priest caught in the middle of a crisis of faith. The characters are connected to each other by the bond they have within the neighborhood which is brought to life through their complications and conflicts.

Barcelona Dreaming – Rupert Thomson

Journey back to 2008 where you'll find yourself on the eve of the financial crisis in a tale of three stories that feature a rich assortment of personalities and a connection by time. The story weaves throughout three distinct stories that interlock. Get to know a gift shop-owning English woman, a jazz pianist that suffers from alcoholism, and a translator tormented by love not returned. Each of these individuals faces a journey that changes everything they know and each of their stories is centered around a Moroccan immigrant that has suffered at the hands of a crime. Themes featured in /Barcelona Dreaming/ include immigration, self-delusion, racism, addiction, and longing. Rupert Thomson delivers a book about those longing for something out of reach and the nostalgia that we have for what we've lost. This stunning summer treat also serves as a love letter to the stunning city of Barcelona.

A Not So Lonely Planet – Karina Kennedy

Marina Taylor is a writer that has big dreams to write her dream book /Italian Women of Influence/ which is in the works with an incredible journey ahead of her and a ticket that will send her on vacation to Rome. Her plans quickly veer thanks to her knack for finding disaster and her attraction to a handsome stranger. Marina takes a note from actress Regina Lombardi as she's inspired to master the art of the sexual gaze while she weaves her focus between research for her book and an assortment of alluring characters from footballers to scholars to Sicilian twins. She embarks on an adventure that takes her throughout the nightclub scene to a masquerade ball while she finds herself longing for a handsome photographer in a game of catch the stranger. Her escapades send her from one thrill to the next and leave her wondering about her sweet ex back home while she indulges in the sexy adventure that awaits her in Italy's amazing cities.

Spinning to Mars – Meg Pokrass

This is a collection of linked stories that will create the feeling of being immersed within the literary worlds that Meg Pokrass has delivered. The assortment of stories provided will take you off to Mars thanks to the language of the writing that creates biting insight with each one. /Spinning to Mars/ consists of what is considered to be Micro stories and is considered to be a short read with experiences that are illuminating and notable. The stories are chilling as well as humorous with a focus on human relationships through the gifts, surprises, and unfairness they can bring. Pokrass has written several collections of flash fiction including “The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down,” “Alice in Wonderland Syndrome,” and “The Loss Detector.”

Red Island House – Andrea Lee

Journey to the island of Madagascar through the eyes of a Black American woman in an epic tale that explores the dangers of love against the backdrop of paradise. Shay is a professor that finds love with the handsome Italian businessman named Senna and soon the two get married. The next character of her life takes her far from home when they leave Milan for life in Madagascar where they settle down in an idyllic life on the beach. They build a gorgeous vacation villa and Shay soon finds herself in charge of a household that puts her between the idealistic life she had grown up in America and the bond she feels with the continent that belonged to her ancestors. As she becomes captivated within this world, she begins to question if she can hold onto both her identity and her marriage against the wild surroundings still haunted by colonial sins.

Lights Out in Lincolnwood – Geoff Rodkey

The Altman family is your typical family consumed with their individual routine, work, and school as they live a mundane life in Lincolnwood, New Jersey. You'll get to know each of the family members: Dan the former lawyer who now writes screenplays and is consumed by the demands of his boss, Jan who gave up a career to raise kids and now waits for the moment she's alone so to pour herself a drink, daughter Chloe who's consumed by upcoming college essays and semifinals for state tennis, and son Max who has a vape addiction and in midst of planning revenge against a classmate. Just as the family starts their regular days, the world comes to a stop. With Dan on the train to work, children at school, and Jan at home, everything around them stops with the technological infrastructure coming to a crashing halt which plunges this normal family and everyone else into chaos as they struggle to deal with a life without technology. The story takes place over the course of four days as this family adapts to a water shortage, paramilitary in the neighborhoods, and looting while trying to solve the mystery unfolding around them.

Island Charm – Audrey Wick

Anna Worthington embarks on an unexpected journey after her twin sister is left by her fiance. She comes up with the ultimate plan to cheer her sister up. They're going to transform her should-be honeymoon into a fun vacation to Key West. Things don't go according to plan when her sister doesn't show up on the plane and she's left to take the trip on her own. Her vacation quickly becomes the romantic getaway that she never would have predicted. Gunnar Lockhart has the know-how in island tourism that makes him the perfect partner for Anna to complete her to-do list for this vacation. The two form an undeniable connection that steers her into sorting through her feelings to decide if this connection is real or if it's the result of paradise. Could her vacation romance be doomed like her twin's own relationship?

Summer in the City – Lori Wilde

Venture into summertime in the city with three sizzling stories. Start with /Night of the Museum/ by Lori Wilde which follows Ria Preston, an art restorer who knows all about beauty. When she and her Wall Street advisor crush are stuck in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she sees her chance at admiring more than just the art. Priscilla Oliveras delves into the romance of a blackout in /Lights Out/ about two theater troupe rivals whose high school competitions transition into their adulthood. Mateo Garza is aiming to achieve of his dreams of being a Broadway star while facing the scathing reviews of his former rival Vanessa Rios who now works as a critic. A perfectly timed blackout creates the perfect opportunity for the two to be alone at Mateo's New York apartment which will allow their friction to turn into chemistry. The last story is /Mind Games/ by Sarah Skilton which is a tale of romance and revenge. Alison is still nursing a grudge carried over from her college days against the most popular guy in school who happens to now be a magician. She enacts the perfect plan of revenge. When his upcoming show takes place, she'll sabotage it and ruin him, but a power outage provides her with an opportunity she never expected.

The Road Trip – Beth O'Leary

What happens when two exes take a road trip? There was a time when Dylan and Addie were completely in love. Dylan was a wealthy Oxford student when he spent his vacation his friend Cherry's French villa at the same time carefree Addie was working as the caretaker. That was four years ago. Their relationship lasted two years before they broke up. Now Cherry's getting married and the exes have a literal run-in with each other which is the first time they've spoken since they've broken up. Dylan's car is too banged up to drive to the wedding in rural Scotland, so the only option is for the two exes to make the journey together. To add to their discomfort, they pack into the car with Dylan's best friend, Addie's sister, and some random guy they met on Facebook for a humorous trip across Britain. The close quarters push the exes to confront the tension between them and to finally address what broke them apart two years ago which will lead them question if they were hasty in their break up.


History Book Roundup

If you’re interested in expanding your non-fiction reading to include more history this springtime, here are a selection of recently published books covering both national and international events, mass and niche interests, famous and lesser known individuals, to whet your appetite for learning something new.

The Princess Spy: The True Story of World War II Spy Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones

Despite initially seeming an unlikely spy, literature graduate and former model Aline Griffith proved to be a dab hand at espionage during World War II. A chance encounter at a dinner party provided the New York native with an opportunity to fulfill her ambition of contributing to the war effort by joining the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and working as a coder in Madrid. From there, her excellent networking and social skills led to her forming connections that were the envy of the more archetypical spies dispatched to Europe by the OSS. Her nose for intrigue and her ear for gossip allowed her to ferret out information from members of the Spanish upper classes that proved vital to the allies. Although it’s clear that some controversy still surrounds Griffith’s war record (there exists documentary evidence concerning her career as a code clerk and an agent runner, but her recollections of more exciting exploits may well have been embroidered), The Princess Spy, Larry Loftis’ account of her extraordinary wartime career, is a work of solid and meticulously researched history. Griffith’s story is an exciting and sometimes almost unbelievable one, but she certainly proved to be a valuable asset for the OSS. Her work as a spy differed significantly from that of the majority of other spies stationed in Europe during World War II, which means that this book provides an insightful account of a unique career in decidedly high-class espionage.

Queens of the Crusades: England’s Medieval Queens Book Two

Alison Weir is among the foremost public historians in the United Kingdom. She is particularly well known for writing histories of female royalty, and in Queens of the Crusades: England’s Medieval Queens Book Two, she turns her attention to the first five Plantagenet queens: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Berengaria of Navarre, Isabella of Angoulême, Alienor of Provence, and Eleanor of Castile. Of the five, Eleanor of Aquitaine is arguably the most (in)famous, so it’s no surprise that the story of her life and times accounts for more than a third of the book. However, the reigns of the other four queens were also characterized by remarkable events, and the book as a whole covers a truly fascinating period of history (1154–1291). Alongside her history books, Weir is also known for writing historical fiction, and her flair for dramatic writing (coupled with the fact that some larger-than-life people and events featured prominently during the period in question) renders this history as sensational and action-packed as a good novel. The characters and exploits of the five queens are brought to the fore and they are finally given the recognition that has been denied them in most prior histories. In addition, considering things from the perspectives of the queens provides Weir with a new lens for examining major events such as the signing of the Magna Carta and the murder of Thomas Becket.

Trailblazing Women! Amazing Americans Who Made History

In Trailblazing Women! Amazing Americans Who Made History, Deborah G. Felder provides potted histories of the lives and achievements of around one hundred and twenty extraordinary American women. The women included in the book come from different times, a wide range of backgrounds, and different spheres of life, but they have all made their mark on the world in amazing and long-lasting ways. For example, from the world of politics, Felder includes brief biographies of Madeleine Albright and Michelle Obama, while from the legal sphere, she features Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Leading lights from the music and entertainment industries are also included in the book, such as Marian Anderson, Billie Holiday, and Lucille Ball. Biographies of some great writers are featured too, including Louisa May Alcott and Maya Angelou. While many of the women included in the book remain famous today, some are now far less well known than their achievements warrant, for example, Jane Addams (a pioneering social reformer) and Hattie Elizabeth Alexander (a groundbreaking physician). Trailblazing Women! Amazing Americans Who Made History provides really interesting and insightful accounts of the lives and works of some truly extraordinary women, and reading it will likely prompt readers to seek out further information about the featured women.

The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution

Yang Jisheng’s The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution provides a definitive account of one of the most tumultuous periods in modern China’s history, a period during which changes occurred that still have repercussions today. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) marked a turning point in the history of both China itself and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and it had devastating social and economic consequences for the Chinese people. Based on both his own experiences and his extensive research, Yang Jisheng ultimately contends that, rather than being a true mass movement that spiraled out of control, the Cultural Revolution was a deliberate attempt to deflect the Chinese public’s discontent toward sources other than the CCP. An exhaustive yet highly readable work, the book is the result of eleven years of research, including sources unavailable to historians outside of China. The scholarship involved in researching and writing The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution is all the more impressive given the potential dangers that Yang Jisheng faced due to the criticisms of Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution, and the CCP contained within the book.

A Time of Fear: America in the Era of Red Scares and Cold War

Arguably, from both the popular perspective and the political, the greatest enemy that the United States faced during the twentieth century was the Soviet Union. The ideologies of the two countries were diametrically opposed, and many within the United States feared that Soviet forces were intent on destabilizing democracy and freedom and so bringing an end to the American Dream. Such fears and the hysteria engendered by them gave rise to so-called Red Scares, including the Rosenberg spy network trial and the McCarthy witch hunts. In A Time of Fear: America in the Era of Red Scares and Cold War, his account of a uniquely paranoid period of American history, Albert Marrin brings the ideas and fears of the time to life and, in doing so, highlights lessons that are still of relevance today. He examines both the prevalent hostility toward the Soviet Union and the aspects of communism that appealed to certain sections of American society, thereby striking a balance between exposing conspiracies and highlighting the truth. It all makes for a very interesting read. The impact of the book’s text is further enhanced by the inclusion of numerous black and white photographs.

The History of Tennis: Legendary Champions, Magical Moments

Richard Evans’ The History of Tennis: Legendary Champions, Magical Moments offers a comprehensive history of tennis from the birth of the sport through to the major matches and top players of the present day. Packed full of facts, figures, and glossy photographs capturing key events and personalities associated with the game, the book is sure to appeal to both die-hard tennis fans and those interested in learning a bit more about the sport. The history of tennis is a long one, dating back to the time of Henry VIII, and there has seemingly always been great rivalry, controversy, and camaraderie involved in the sport. As a result, there are plenty of intriguing and, sometimes, downright surprising stories to be told. Evans’ clear passion for tennis shines through in his writing about the technicalities of the sport, the famous moments, the infamous faces, and various bits of behind-the-scenes information that he has gleaned during his long career as a tennis journalist. While the book will probably most strongly appeal to those who already have a great deal of interest in tennis (beyond watching the finals of the major tournaments, that is), there is also plenty for the more casual follower of the sport to enjoy.


Rule of Threes

Maggie is an only child, which is just how she likes it. She doesn't have to deal with siblings who take her stuff or pull her hair. Her parents are great, but it’s her grandmother who understands her best, as they share a love of interior design. In fact, Maggie and her best friends, Rachel and Olive, have developed an interior design business. So when their school announces a decorating contest, Maggie knows she and her friends have it covered, but her rule of threes is about to be obliterated when she learns she has an older brother (so there are now four in her family), her grandmother is forgetting things (even her own name!), and her best friends have changed (boy crazy, for sure). Middle school is so tough!

This book weaves together three different issues facing children today: drug abuse, infidelity, and aging health problems. However, it does so in a way that is safe for middle grade children. Maggie reacts to many issues as though younger than a sixth grader, but her relationship with her unexpected sibling is refreshing in its lack of rivalry. As a result, it is predicted that this book will top many state award lists soon.


Blankie (A Narwhal and Jelly Board Book) (A Narwhal and Jelly Book)

For Christmas, I got my first Narwhal and Jelly book; I hadn't heard about it before then. While driving home, my mom read it to me, and between me and my brother, we requested it a lot. I was excited to read Blankie: A Narwhal and Jelly Board Book! Blankie is a little shorter in length than the other ones in the series and is a board book instead of a paperback. This book doesn't have chapters as the others do but is one story. The story is about Narwhal and how he has something like a blankie. Jelly guesses that it's a blankie when he sees him, but then Narwhal tells him lots of other uses for it.

The story is rhyming and easy for me to read and understand. The pictures don't have a lot of colors other than the yellow blankie, blue Jelly, and grey Narwhal. This is okay because it is like the other books. I liked reading this book because I could read it by myself or listen to one of my parents read it to me. I know that anyone who is a fan of Narwhal and Jelly will like this book.


The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World That's Pulling Apart

Maybe it’s the pandemic or the last year spent teaching mostly online, but this book was a tough read. Meticulously researched and insightfully crafted, Noreena Hertz’s <The Lonely Century is an absolutely brilliant book that takes great fortitude to read.

Hertz spends the majority of the book outlining the various ways we are lonely. At home, at work, sitting behind screens all day—all of these add up to a crisis of loneliness that threatens not only our interpersonal relationships but our physical health. From heart disease to dementia to mental health struggles, the symptom of loneliness can lead to a host of life-threatening diagnoses.

She writes of people who pay for companionship, soldiers who treat robots as members of the team, workers who must be trained to recognize facial cues after too much time interacting only with AI or people on the other end of emails or faceless digital chats. These exhaustive and detailed examples more than make the case for the loneliness crisis. And, while there are some suggested solutions along the way, concrete solutions to the problem aren’t explicitly outlined until the last chapter.

As a sociocultural study of loneliness and why so many of us experience it, the book is exceptional. If you’re looking for an upbeat, hopeful approach, you may want to skip ahead to page two hundred twenty-eight.


The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss

This phenomenal story for the geek is a very special first romance. In The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost Kiss, you meet one technology-loving, ordinary boy and his romantically naive, physics genius of a 'girl-space-friend'. The story chronicles the first kiss and crush of a young woman in the sciences, conquering emotional troubles and finding her heart along the way. I really think it is well written, with a healthy sprinkling of physics, especially quantum mechanics, references. Both romance and science are well-mixed, due to the fact that the majority of the physics comes from the setting, a selective, private school. The book is written in a neat fashion, alternating between the girl and the boy. This element means that girls and boys both would enjoy it. However, the fact that Evie, the girl, is center-stage might mean that girls may prefer the book. Most STEM prodigies aged eleven or older would enjoy the book. Every middle-school physics geek should read this to dip into the sea of romance. Although the book will be most appealing to science oriented kids, other middle schoolers will enjoy it as well because it is a very well written young romance. Every middle school and library needs a copy.


Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction

Have you ever thought it would be great to write a book, specifically one that is historical fiction? If so, this is a book you should really consider adding to your library. True historical fiction lands more specifically on the “historical” than on the “fiction.” In other words, one can’t simply make stuff up. The story must be grounded in a particular time and place with references to specific historical events as well as having a setting, technology, fashion, language, etc. that clearly places the story in that time and place. And this means research. Some find that daunting, but most writers find the research to be exciting and really fun. And to have a guide such as this book will make the process of writing a historical fiction book not only possible but really quite doable.

Author Meredith Allard is an award-winning writer of historical fiction with several published historical novels, and she is the editor of The Copperfield Review, a highly respected literary journal for readers and writers of historical fiction. With credentials such as these, using this book as a starting point for those who want to write historical fiction is really an easy decision. And this is a book those new to fiction writing can use with chapters on Creative Inspiration and How to Write a Story. That said, more experienced writers who may be moving into the historical fiction genre for the first time will not be disappointed. There is plenty of meat on the bones for experienced writers with several chapters on Research and Consider your Sources as well as Language and Dialogue in Historical Fiction and so much more.

Allard’s writing is lively and conversational. Reading this book is much like having coffee with a friendly mentor (bring your own coffee) who imparts a lot of wisdom through anecdotes, examples, and inspirational quotes. The reader needs to do work, though, as Allard asks a lot of questions  to nudge readers into introspection and critical thinking. She suggests a lot of exercises, such as studying screenplays as a way to learn to write dialogue or filling out an extensive character questionnaire to make sure you fully understand your character, and she has homework assignments at the ends of many of the chapters. Allard has a companion workbook available on her website that will be particularly helpful to those beginning their writing journey in the area of historical fiction. She also has included links to many helpful sites for research. This book is a must have for any writer thinking about working in this genre.


This Is the Glade Where Jack Lives: Or How a Unicorn Saved the Day

Who doesn’t love the delicious play of language in a child’s nursery rhyme? Here Armstrong-Ellis has updated The House that Jack Built to include a quirky assortment of mythic creatures including gnomes, fairies, imps, mermaids, dragons, and a particularly eye-catching, sparkly unicorn named Jack. In a departure from the original nursery rhyme, some of these creatures create ever-increasing chaos. Can Jack bring peace to his glade? Yes, he can with something as simple and sweet as a kiss.

 Told with delightful rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration, Armstrong-Ellis’s story is simply good fun to read aloud. It is very possible that adults will enjoy the fun of this story as much as their young audience. Furthermore, it probably won't take too many readings for the listeners to begin reciting the story with the reader. In the meantime, the illustrations hilariously capture the story while providing tiny background details for the listeners to explore. For those who know of someone who can’t resist the allure of a sparkly, rainbow-tinted unicorn or the hilarious antics of misbehaving creatures, This is the Glade Where Jack Lives cannot be missed.


Amid the plethora of intellectual discourse about confronting the ills of racial stratification, Rachel Ricketts’s Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy is a welcome change of tone and authenticity. As a racial justice educator, Ricketts cuts through the noise around well-intentioned – often scholarly – approaches to dismantling racism by focusing on the necessary “spiritual soulcare” to combat racial bias and injustice. Drawing from “a lifetime of pain” as a queer, Canadian-born, multiracial Black woman, Ricketts uses the power of personal testimony in explicitly acknowledging that anger grounds her narrative in naming the emotional, mental, and psychic harms caused by Whiteness.

While Ricketts clearly states that she wrote the book for Black and indigenous womxn of color, a reader who does not identify with either identity will find revelatory and liberatory solutions to the insidious problem of everyday racism. Ricketts specifically names everyday bouts of ostracization and marginalization leveled by white womxn on Black and indigenous womxn and offers concrete examples of acting in allyship and disrupting microaggressions.

The author offers journal prompts that get to the heart of internal, introspective dialogue required to arrive at a level of openness required for deep change. Ricketts’s focus on antiracist practices ensures that actions match professed commitments to justice and equity. Awareness is no longer enough; fighting white supremacy requires consistent intent and action. It’s a timely and excellent call-to-action for each of us to do better and to get better.


Bubbles (A Narwhal and Jelly Board Book) (A Narwhal and Jelly Book)

Bubbles! Did you know there are lots of bubbles in the ocean? Come on an adventure with Narwhal and Jelly to discover the different bubbles in the sea. Join in their bubble-tastic adventure.

The text is hilarious. I love how much fun and humor the author put into this book with his word choices. A fun read for kids and adults, I can’t wait to add more Narwhal and Jelly books to our collection. The illustrations are mostly very simple, with a lot of white or solid color space. There is a pattern of panels from white to solid to more detailed. Because this is a humorous and quick read, it works so well.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone from birth to six years old, but I think even older kids and adults would appreciate the fun nature of this fantastic book. It is very clever and creative. I am so glad I was introduced to Narwhal and Jelly.


365 Days to Alaska

Rigel lives with her two sisters and her parents in the wilderness of Alaska. They are pretty self-sufficient and don’t need to go into town, which is located miles away, very often. The girls are home schooled and really love their life. But tension between their parents is growing, and they eventually announce they are divorcing. The girls’ mother will take them to Connecticut where they will live with her and her mother. Their dad promises Rigel that she can come back in one year. Rigel has trouble adjusting to her new school, but eventually finds ways to cope. As the year goes on, communications from their dad trickle down to nothing. A phone call to a friend in Alaska and news of her father changes everything for Rigel.

Author Cathy Carr has written a terrific story that perfectly captures the angst of a middle-school girl torn from a home and father she loves and all she has to go through to navigate a new home, school, and life. Readers see her grow and change as she figures out what is really important in life and what it is that truly makes a family. The writing is great and the story compelling. This is a real winner.


A Bright Ray of Darkness: A novel

Ethan Hawke is becoming a new man. To reinvent himself, he has taken up a role in a new production. To reinvigorate himself, he parties with new friends. He even changed his name to William Harding, the name of the philandering protagonist in his first novel in nearly twenty years, A Bright Ray of Darkness. Hawke deftly reimagines himself as Harding weaving through parallel but opposite scenarios that Hawke himself faced in his early career. But whether or not this blistering novel is a form of self-therapy is up for debate. For one, there is neither redemption nor retribution for the hot, sticky affairs in which Harding charges head-first.

Hawke’s reflective personality and dubious charm invites the reader to revisit their old haunts and wares, in a genuine submissive display of exposing his own truths. Most men would be embarrassed to compare themselves to their parallel ego, but Hawke has a fondness for it, much as an actor might for the character they have chosen to play and whose soul they have pored through like a book.


Fairhaven Rising (Saga of Recluce, 22)

It has been sixteen years since the founding of Fairhaven, thanks in part to the efforts of the mage Beltur. Fairhaven has rapidly found success in its white magic-driven methods, to the extent that countries and rulers across Candar view them as a threat. Taelya, Beltur’s adopted niece, is now a mage herself, and an under captain in the Fairhaven Road Guards. As she works to find her place in the city and in her life, she finds herself drawn into a conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything she cares about. Will she be able to stop it?

The latest volume in fantasy author L.E. Modesitt, Jr.’s The Saga of Recluce holds true to the themes and character-driven style that have made the entire series such a longstanding success. Readers spend much of the story diving deep into the daily life of Taelya, which some might find dull but others will appreciate as essential to the well-rounded depth that makes these books what they are. The story is fascinating and far-reaching, the characters interesting and insightful. Fans of Recluce will find Fairhaven Rising an essential addition to the series.


A Year of Everyday Wonders

What are important things that happen in a year? First snow? Fights with your siblings? First swim? How about first hot chocolate and ice cream? Let’s celebrate the firsts and more of each year.

The text of this book is simplistic, but it has a big meaning with a small number of words. My personal favorites are the first valentine, first umbrella, three hundredth fight with your brother, first giving, and first getting. This is truly a beautiful celebration of the wonderful things that happens to a child during a year.

The illustrations complement the text beautifully. I love how the simple words were taken to make a breathtaking illustration that shows each part so beautifully. The first haircut and second haircut cracked me up from personal experience with my kids.

My four-year-old daughter enjoyed this book. She liked the first ice-cream truck day, and the first splash battle was awesome. She thought that the fights with the big brother were funny and that the older brother was a bit mean. My daughter can very much relate since she has an older brother.


Quiet in Her Bones

Quiet in Her Bones tells the story of famous author Aarav, who has recently moved back in with his father and stepmother after a car accident. After a few weeks of being back, a car with remains is found in the forest near their exclusive Cul-de-Sac. The remains end up being those of Aarav’s mother, who disappeared ten years ago with a quarter of a million dollars. Everyone assumed she had run off, tired of the way her husband treated her. Turns out that she never made it further than the forest, as she was most likely murdered that night. Aarav is determined to discover what really happened to his mother, but there are so many secrets under the beautiful façade of this Cul-de-Sac. Some will do anything to keep them that way.

Excellent writing and characters. You can’t quite make out with Aarav’s head injury and his lapses in memory, whether he’s a reliable narrator or not. Aarav’s character was well developed throughout the book and you spend most of the time getting to know him from his perspective as well as others. We really are our own worst critics. It’s not fast-paced, but thrilling all the same.


Go and Do Likewise! The Wisdom of Jesus

Jesus spoke of a lot of parables when he was on earth. Sometimes they are hard to understand, but Go and Do Likewise helps explain them to kids like me, along with some help from my parents. Some of the parables were ones I had heard before, like the wise man building his house on the rock, the Good Samaritan, leaving the ninety-nine sheep for the one lost, and the Prodigal Son. Each one of Jesus's parables has a meaning, but sometimes Jesus says people won't ever understand it because they don't believe in him. I just need to be a little older to understand some of them myself.

I liked having this book read to me because the pictures are colorful but showing Jesus looking a little differently than I had imagined. There is a lot of artwork on the pages, sometimes with pictures inside of letters throughout the book. The words are a little hard for me to read, but the pictures do a good job of showing what is happening. I think that any kids who are Christians will like this book for themselves or in Sunday School.


The Stitchers (Fright Watch #1)

Summertime is a great time for tweens to take adventures and to stretch their imaginations to new heights. These five great reads will allow you to ride with dragons, enter fantastical places, take to the stars, and exploring chilling mysteries. From space adventures to feminist treats, this list has something for every tween to enjoy.

Legend of the Dragon Slayer – Brandon Mull

The edition breathes life into the origin story behind the legendary Dragonwatch from the /Fablehaven/ series. Brandon Mull delves into the Dragon War by exploring the events that brought Dragon Slayers together and sent dragons into sanctuaries. The story of the first Dragon Slayer is brought to life in /Legend of the Dragon Slayer/ through a time when monsters terrorized the land and the kingdom needed a hero. Konrad wants to prove that he's more than just a cobbler's son and is willing to do whatever it takes even if it brings him up against dangerous creatures. None of the monsters compare to the threat that the Dragon brings which is a threat that will push Konrad to face his greatest quest. The edition comes with amazing features such as stunning illustrations from Brandon Dorman, a catalog of Dragon Slayers, and a map that will let you explore the kingdom of Selona.

Winterkeep – Kristin Cashore

The /Graceling Realm/ series receives another dazzling installment from Kristin Cashore that delivers another charming tale. Bitterblue has spent the last few years as Queen rebuilding the nation with the determination to give her people a second chance after taking the throne from her father. The land of Torla is now on her radar which inspires her to send envoys to Winterkeep which is the nearest nation. Winterkeep is a wondrous place with telepathic foxes, bonds formed between foxes and humans, and amazing airships, but all is not as it seems when she learns that her envoys drowned which raises questions about the nation's intentions. Bitterblue takes it upon herself to investigate by venturing to the nation with her two most trusted allies but their journey is quickly derailed by a tragedy that has severe repercussions. Elsewhere, Lovisa Cavenda from Winterkeep could be just the key that Bitterblue is searching for but Lovisa has her own choice to make about whom to become. The books in the series can be read in any order.

The Stitchers – Lorien Lawrence

In the thrilling first book in the series /Fright Watch/, Lorien Lawrence embodies everything you love about frights, chills, and ghost stories. Quinn Parker has neighbors down the street that she's convinced are strange as they've been long-time residents on Goodie Lane and never seem to age which has earned them the nickname: the Oldies. Before her father died, he used to her come up with crazy theories about the Oldies that ranged from aliens to vampires and now she has her heart set on keeping the investigation going in his honor. She turns to her crush (and fellow neighbor) for help digging into the secrets that the Oldies hold. Their search takes a surprising turn when they discover the local pond has its own secrets and comes with shocking answers after the Oldies catch onto their investigation.

Wench – Maxine Kaplan

The tavern has been Tanya's home since she was a child, and by the time she reached eleven, she even had mastered how to kick out the drunkards. The bar has provided her with a home and allowed her to grow into an empowered confident teenager. She learned to not let anyone take advantage of her and has even come to know how to run the tavern inside out, but the death of her guardian could change everything. Now she may have to watch everything she loves slowly slip away from her and she'll do whatever it takes to get the bar in her name even it takes a visit to the queen. She embarks on an epic quest where she takes on guards, thieves, and even the presence of a magical feather. /Wench/ is a stunning feminist read that is original, funny, and charming.

Trouble in the Stars – Sarah Prineas

Trouble is a shapeshifter with a problem. They're running from something that they can't remember and doing everything they can to stay a step ahead of the StarLeague. Trouble changes their form from blob to puppy to the eventual form of a human boy. They soon find their way onto the ship /Hindsight/ where they find safety even under Captain Astra and learn how to be a human boy. That safety soon comes to an end when a StarLeague cadet enters the ship in search of them which pushes Trouble into an unexpected shapeshifter. Trouble will do whatever it takes to find freedom and a place to call home which leads to a chase across the galaxy in an adventure about finding a family. Sarah Prineas delivers an epic journey about a band of misfits with an unlikely hero at the heart and an adventure that pulls you in from the beginning.


We Run the Tides: A Novel

Eulabee is a young girl growing up in the 1980s in San Francisco. We Run the Tides tells her coming-of-age story as she makes friends, loses friends, experiences puppy love, and starts to understand the dynamics of her own family as well as the families of her friends, Julia and Maria Fabiola, who come from very different families.

One day, Eulabee and her friends walk past a white car and the man in the car asks them the time. As they walk past, Eulabee's friends say that they think they saw the man doing something inappropriate in the car. It is at this point in the story that we reach a turning point because Maria decides to unfriend Eulabee because she won't say that she thought this was what happened with the man in the car.

I really enjoyed this story. Eulabee is an interesting girl who is carefree and has.a very inquisitive personality, which is likable. She seems very mature for her age. I didn't expect the story to fast forward at the end to 2019; however, I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and actually wished the author had made this part of the story longer.


Notes from a Dead House (Everyman's Library Classics Series)

This is a beautiful beribboned volume from Everyman’s Library in keeping with their respect for great literature. Even the page paper is a sensual delight. In the foreword, the translators continue the respectful presentation; even without speaking a word of Russian, I trust them to be true to the original writing of Dostoevsky.

Like Victor Hugo, contemporaneous with Dostoevsky, these authors witnessed uprisings by the downtrodden and sympathized with their plight. Both authors were exiled for five years for their writing in political opposition to their ruling governments. Dostoevsky so enraged the Tsar, that the Tsar personally arranged that the writer is condemned to death and orchestrated the sham execution which he could commute at the very last minute to a transfer to Siberia. Imagine, if you will, one of the most beautiful and sensitive natures of our culture sent to a house of hardened criminals where hard work was the only reprieve from their mutual locked chamber of deprivation. Even in such a place, such was his nature, that the writer found beauty and humanity in the most desperate of men. As oppressed as he was, the writer found the characters for many of his most famous novels; the cruelness of crime and the injustice sometimes found in punishment.


Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters #2

Chris Samnee , Andy Suriano , Laura Samnee

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters was a really great book. The drawings were realistic, but in a more cartoon way, and the details and shading on the 3-D objects were really well-drawn. The plot was a bit tricky to understand, but when you did, the plot was great, intriguing, and I would definitely read the continued part. I liked how there were flashbacks throughout the book, it really added an in-depth explanation of how the characters were feeling. This book is good for readers who like graphic novels, and an interesting story. It may also be good for readers eight to ten years old, as it is a short but amazing book. The monsters’ designs were in detail and seemed like something that would legitimately be terrifying in real life. But since it isn’t, we can just enjoy them. I feel like this book could have been longer, but even so, it was a great book nonetheless.


No One Will Miss Her: A Novel

A story that will completely throw you for a loop just when you think you know what's going on, No One Will Miss Her is an expertly written book with characters you'll find so interesting and a plot that is equally intriguing.

Lizzie Ouelette is dead. Lizzie and her father, Earl, are the trash of the town of Copper Falls. The story is written from alternating points of view. One is from Lizzie herself, while the others are written in the third person. Lizzie and her husband, Dwayne, cross paths with a wealthy couple from out of town who just want to disappear from their lives for a month. Adrienne and Ethan Richards rent Lizzie and Dwayne's Airbnb cabin to get away and Lizzie is in awe of the persona that Adrienne carries. The two talk through many bottles of wine. What happens next is both insane and admirable.

Without giving anything away, I will tell you that you will not see what is coming. I was so blown away by the way author Kat Rosenfield was able to twist the story around. This is a thriller you won't want to miss.


Castle Shade: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes

Following right on the heels of Riviera Gold, Castle Shade finds Mary and Sherlock in Romania at the behest of none other than Queen Marie herself. A plague of folkloric fiction come to life seems to follow in the queen's wake, and there have been threats against her daughter Ileana. Much to her disgruntled amusement, Sherlock has Russell accompany him partly to gain insight into the world of young women. She doesn't get to partake in that so much with the princess, as the queen didn't allow Ileana to return to Castle Bran, but Russell does grow close to castle staff who are Ileana's friends. With increasing evidence of strigoi, witchcraft, and other dark dealings piling up, time is running out for the pair to solve this most curious case.

Castle Shade has become my third favorite of Mary's memoirs, behind Justice Hall and Island of the Mad. This pair are the epitome of “curious cats.” This story, unlike the last, had more of Holmes and Russell together, and Holmes is changing. Admitting to flaws must be so hard for the man. But it's a good change. I look forward to seeing it continue.


I Love You as Big as a Rainbow

Small Bear is prancing along the river when a big raindrop falls on him, followed by lots more raindrops. Small Bear is sad until Big Bear points out a beautiful rainbow streaked across the sky. When the rain stops, the rainbow melts away. Small Bear is disappointed. He wanted to keep the rainbow, but Big Bear says they can make their own rainbow. The two bears search through the forest for just what they need. First, the red flowers that Big Bear says are as deep and strong as her love for Small Bear. Next, they find orange and yellow leaves that represent Small Bear’s sense of fun. Green grass seems boring to Small Bear until Big Bear points out it is always growing, just like her love for Small Bear. They go on to find blue, indigo, and violet.

Joan Summers has written a sweet story of a parent’s love for a child and ways parents might convey that love. Illustrator Alberta Torres completes the story with charming, expressive characters and backgrounds that are filled with fun details and bright, beautiful colors. This is a book youngsters will ask for over and over.


Colors of Habitats (Nature's Wonderful Colors)

This is not a little children’s picture book, but one for children who are a mature age ten and up, and who have a real interest in art and prose poems. This is a beautiful and unusual guide for people interested in working in any kind of colors for drawing or painting subjects from nature. Twelve habitats are featured on a spread apiece: Polar regions, Taiga, Peatbog, Deciduous forest, Lake, Meadow, The Mediterranean, Coral reefs, Desert, Savannah, Rainforest, and Cave. Each spread has a dozen circles across the top showing the color palette used in that habitat. There is also a prose poem about the habitat and the flora and fauna living there, as well as many illustrations of the flora and fauna, many more than mentioned in the poem. In the back of the book, there is a spread with a color wheel and some instruction about how to combine colors, which are warm and cool colors, and how to look to nature for guidance in the use of color. This is a perfect book to engender experimentation in color and illustration for young people and even adults who are dipping their toes in drawing and painting.


The Coldest Case: A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel (Bruno, Chief of Police Series)

When Bruno, Chief of Police in St. Denis, France, is at a museum viewing a facial reconstruction of our ancient ancestors, he gets an idea for solving a cold case. A skull from thirty years ago has remained unidentified, and Bruno thinks a reconstruction might help identify the victim. It turns out to be a complicated case, and only one witness can be found. The possible perpetrator may also have a past that connects him to former East Germany. But before the case can be solved, French bureaucracy may intervene.

On top of a case that is taking unexpected turns, Bruno's cousin has come for a visit, and his beloved basset hound has just sired a batch of pups. If that weren't enough, forest fires threaten the area giving Bruno even more work to attend. But thankfully, he has friends to lend a helping hand, and there is sure to be a tasty meal and good wine at the end of the day.

Coldest Case is richly detailed and full of history, which makes it a great read. More than that, Walker has a way of making me feel like I'm part of the charming French community and countryside that Bruno loves so much.


Animal Helpers

You know about dogs, cats, horses, pigs, and other animals, and you may even have some as pets. But, did you know that some of these animals helped humans in big ways? Well, in this book, you read about just that! It wasn't only dogs, cats, horses, and pigs, it was also cheetahs, geese, and even pigeons!

I learned so many things from this book! For example, dolphins often rescued people from ships that had sunk. There was even a dolphin who helped ships find what they were looking for! I also learned that in ancient Greece, instead of using barbells to exercise, people simply picked up cows! The illustrations in this book were very fun. Overall, I had an awesome time reading this book, and I was surprised a lot!


The Queen Will Betray You (Kingdoms of Sand and Sky Book 2)

Princess Amarande and Luca are both monarchs without a kingdom. Though their love is true, they reluctantly part to save their ailing countries. However, Ama is taken unawares when she is introduced to the brother she didn’t know she had by the mother she hasn’t seen in years, then promptly locked in a tower. Her efforts to push past the patriarchy and rule in her own right are stalled again. Meanwhile, Luca must go to the Torrent, his country by birth, and rally his people from the Warlord who has terrorized the area for so many years. As secrets are shared and battle lines are drawn, Ama and Luca do not know whom to trust, but they hold to the truth that their love will bring them back together.

Action is quick, characters are cruel, and cliffhangers are brutal, switching scenes and abandoning characters in perilous positions. The beautiful cover hides more references to The Princess Bride to readers’ delight. A review or re-read of the first book would be helpful as this one builds on previous events and characters. The King Will Kill You will complete this series in August 2022.


Amazing Animals of the World

This is a book that will keep youngsters (first through fifth grade) entertained and learning for days. It is arranged into seven chapters — Animals with Resplendent Colors, Animals that Remember Old Times, Animals that Disguise Themselves as Other Animals, Animals that Get Their Food in a Special Way, Animals that Grow Something Unexpected, Animals with Their Own Lamp, and Animals that Defend Themselves in Wonderful Ways. Each chapter has an introductory paragraph for the group and several examples of animals, each with a good write-up that has fun facts written in very conversational language with a lot of humor. They cover such things as where they live, how they move, what they eat, or whatever is special about them. These are accompanied by a cartoonish illustration of the animal in a personified form. Perhaps the hope is children will be curious enough to do some research to find photographs that will show what the real animals look like. The write-up gives just enough information about the animals to whet young readers’ appetites and send them searching for more. This could never be mistaken for a science book, but there is science information embedded in the humorous paragraphs.


Atlas of Dogs

Atlas of Dogs by Stepanka Sekaninova is a pretty cool book about dogs for anyone who loves dogs or wants to learn more about man’s best friend. The book lists all kinds of dog breeds by categories and gives good descriptions, so if you are choosing a dog for a pet, it could be helpful. They also rate dog breed groups by intelligence, obedience, activity level, guarding skills, and barking. There are also a lot of stories about hero dogs, dogs of famous people, and famous dogs in history. You can also find some fun facts, tips on how to take care of your dog, and how to interpret dog body language. The book is full of fun pictures (even though they aren’t photographs). I think this is a really fun book and I love just flipping through the pages and learning about all the cool dogs!


The Sister-in-Law: A Novel

The Sister-In-Law is a fast-paced whodunnit kind of novel. As characters Harper, Candace, and Lane weave their way through the most complicated of situations, catfights ensue, people die, and secrets come out. Harper and Lane have always been very close siblings. So close, in fact, that when Harper finds her husband, Ben, dead on their couch, she calls Lane to help make it seem like homicide and not a suicide so that she can collect the life insurance money. She and her two children end up living with Lane, only to find out that he has married his girlfriend, Candace. Candace has secrets. Big ones. Although Harper is distraught and distracted due to her husband's death, she knows there is something not right with Candace.

The Sister-In-Law is a fantastic book with characters who seem to be reliable at times and very unreliable at others. It kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading it and trying to guess the twisty ending of what really happened. Fans of thrillers, suspense, and mystery novels will not be disappointed with this book.


Chihuly and Architecture

With summer just around the corner, experience the world of traveling without leaving the comfort of your bedroom. Dive into these books complete with journals and photographs. From architecture to food, spend some time in a place you’ve never been before and find your own passion through vivid images and description.

Bookstores: A Celebration of Independent Booksellers- Stuart Husband

Travel through time by unlocking the magic of architecture and the history in bookstores. Experience the differences throughout various cultures and marvel at the commonalities that they share through text: knowledge and imagination. Stuart Husband’s book allows readers to travel the world and meet new people without leaving the comfort of their seats. Through anecdotes and lively photography, Husband spotlights the importance of variation while capturing the sheer purpose of bookstores and sellers. This book is ideal for readers who find comfort or productivity in the quiet of bookstores and desire to experience this feeling again without leaving their homes.

Chasing Harvest- Kevin O'Connor

Kevin O’Connor journals his encounters working in kitchens at a young age in this memoir. Accompanied with photographs and accounts of his experiences, O’Connor divulges his love of cooking to readers as he searches for a greater purpose. Learn about what it means to chase your dreams even after finding a passion at a young age and how that led the author on an adventure around the world. O’Connor’s love of food reminds readers how to reclaim hope in their lives and allow it to guide their futures. Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind story.

Chihuly and Architecture- Eleanor Heartney

Dive into the works of American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly as captured by Eleanor Heartney, art-critic based in New York. Chihuly is a world-renowned artist with commissions all over America and internationally. This publication captures Dale Chihuly’s commitment to detail in his pieces by detailing the variety of installations from walls to entire rooms and how they have impacted humanity on a global scale. Whether it be Italy, Ireland, or Israel, Heartney compiles the similarities in Chihuly’s artwork across the world and how each piece is tailored to shine light on many different cultures.

From Wandering to Illumination: The New Eleusinian Mysteries- Ryan J.

Bush Fine art photographer Ryan J. Bush is back with his new book that captures the photography of nature and trees accompanied by the Eleusinian Mysteries, the stories of ancient Greeks. Bush’s manipulation of color invites viewers to consider the idea of awakening and blossoming in nature. The symbolism in each piece challenges the viewers to consider the mysteries each photograph holds, waiting to be unlocked. Just like Bush’s other works, From Wandering to
Illumination: The New Eleusinian Mysteries allows reflection and meditation on each piece before turning a page and seeing the evolution that is present within ourselves. The book keeps readers engaged and leaves them wanting more while contemplating the order of the natural world.


The Road Trip

The best plans take you to stunning places around the world and this summer you can take the perfect trip all without leaving your home. From a sexy adventure in Italy to a suspenseful journey in Greece, these amazing authors will take you on thought-provoking and compelling journeys. You can traipse to the city of Barcelona in a tale of longing, meet a man that doesn't exist on Frick Island, lose technology in Lincolnwood, and even dip back in time to the 2008 financial crisis. Each of these literary reads would make for the perfect summertime treat.

The Weary God of Ancient Travelers – Jessica Stilling

A suspenseful read that follows a woman with no memory except for her arrival in Santorini with a man she's drawn to trust. How can she trust this mysterious man if she doesn't even remember his name? She navigates her own mind in search of her past and identity which is a journey derailed by memories of a life that wasn't hers. Jessica Stilling sets the story among a backdrop of stunning scenes of Greece described as being almost visceral with a unique compilation of romance, mystery, and self-inspection. /The Weary God of Ancient Travelers/ is considered compelling as the story weaves between her past life to her present one and set upon descriptions of Greece that come to life off the page.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island – Colleen Oakley

Frick Island is where Piper Parrish has made home, living what's considered an almost idealistic life. The only downside to the beauty of her life is the fact that her husband Tom is dead and has been since his boat capsized. You wouldn't know such sadness has rocked Piper's life as the widow has carried on as if her husband was still alive and well. Not only does she act as if he's present for meals, taking walks to the docks with him, and keeping their regular meetings, but the entire town indulges her by pretending that nothing has changed. Enter Anders Caldwell who thought he would be a podcast star by now, instead, he's stuck writing fluff news stories. Then he gets an assignment that brings him to Frick Island where he'll cover yet another fluff piece. While he's writing about the joys of a Cake Walk fundraiser, he discovers that the entire town pretends that a dead man is still alive. This strange behavior draws him back to the island to investigate where he meets Piper and discovers more than just a story.

My Year Abroad – Chang-rae Lee

Tiller is what you'd considered being a normal student in college and is known for being good, but he has one problem. He's bored and has no interest in what college has to offer then Pong Lou enters his life. Pong is a successful Chinese American entrepreneur who quickly takes him under his wing and even takes him on an incredible trip throughout Asia. This delivers a story that is ripe with darkness, humorous, and possesses a suspenseful journey that transforms Tiller from a common student to a protege excited to see the world. His experiences throughout his vacation open his eyes to another side of himself and change how he sees Pong while crafting a new way for him to understand the world. Lee's prose is considered to be precise and elliptical, told through alternating narratives which weaves between Tiller's year abroad, his reflection upon how the trip affects his future, and the domestic life that he settles into upon returning home. His year abroad is described as riveting with a deep emotional complexity that delivers a brilliant commentary that Chang-rae Lee implores about Western attitudes and Eastern stereotypes. The story covers themes such as mental well-being, capitalism, parenthood, global trade, and being a mentor while also delving into the effects of cultural immersion through Tiller's experiences being American in China and Pong's experiences being Chinese in America.

Shaky Town – Lou Matthews

/Shaky Town/ is a timeless story that focuses on the working-class residing within Los Angeles and told in the writing style of Lou Matthews who uses his time as a street racer and mechanic reflected within the prose. The plot is told through a panoramic style that revolves around the various characters residing within a Los Angeles neighborhood and is explored through individual tales about tragedy and glory. Each of the characters is driven by their environment which features a shaky faultline with an assortment of personalities including a girl caught up in a gang war and a priest caught in the middle of a crisis of faith. The characters are connected to each other by the bond they have within the neighborhood which is brought to life through their complications and conflicts.

Barcelona Dreaming – Rupert Thomson

Journey back to 2008 where you'll find yourself on the eve of the financial crisis in a tale of three stories that feature a rich assortment of personalities and a connection by time. The story weaves throughout three distinct stories that interlock. Get to know a gift shop-owning English woman, a jazz pianist that suffers from alcoholism, and a translator tormented by love not returned. Each of these individuals faces a journey that changes everything they know and each of their stories is centered around a Moroccan immigrant that has suffered at the hands of a crime. Themes featured in /Barcelona Dreaming/ include immigration, self-delusion, racism, addiction, and longing. Rupert Thomson delivers a book about those longing for something out of reach and the nostalgia that we have for what we've lost. This stunning summer treat also serves as a love letter to the stunning city of Barcelona.

A Not So Lonely Planet – Karina Kennedy

Marina Taylor is a writer that has big dreams to write her dream book /Italian Women of Influence/ which is in the works with an incredible journey ahead of her and a ticket that will send her on vacation to Rome. Her plans quickly veer thanks to her knack for finding disaster and her attraction to a handsome stranger. Marina takes a note from actress Regina Lombardi as she's inspired to master the art of the sexual gaze while she weaves her focus between research for her book and an assortment of alluring characters from footballers to scholars to Sicilian twins. She embarks on an adventure that takes her throughout the nightclub scene to a masquerade ball while she finds herself longing for a handsome photographer in a game of catch the stranger. Her escapades send her from one thrill to the next and leave her wondering about her sweet ex back home while she indulges in the sexy adventure that awaits her in Italy's amazing cities.

Spinning to Mars – Meg Pokrass

This is a collection of linked stories that will create the feeling of being immersed within the literary worlds that Meg Pokrass has delivered. The assortment of stories provided will take you off to Mars thanks to the language of the writing that creates biting insight with each one. /Spinning to Mars/ consists of what is considered to be Micro stories and is considered to be a short read with experiences that are illuminating and notable. The stories are chilling as well as humorous with a focus on human relationships through the gifts, surprises, and unfairness they can bring. Pokrass has written several collections of flash fiction including “The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down,” “Alice in Wonderland Syndrome,” and “The Loss Detector.”

Red Island House – Andrea Lee

Journey to the island of Madagascar through the eyes of a Black American woman in an epic tale that explores the dangers of love against the backdrop of paradise. Shay is a professor that finds love with the handsome Italian businessman named Senna and soon the two get married. The next character of her life takes her far from home when they leave Milan for life in Madagascar where they settle down in an idyllic life on the beach. They build a gorgeous vacation villa and Shay soon finds herself in charge of a household that puts her between the idealistic life she had grown up in America and the bond she feels with the continent that belonged to her ancestors. As she becomes captivated within this world, she begins to question if she can hold onto both her identity and her marriage against the wild surroundings still haunted by colonial sins.

Lights Out in Lincolnwood – Geoff Rodkey

The Altman family is your typical family consumed with their individual routine, work, and school as they live a mundane life in Lincolnwood, New Jersey. You'll get to know each of the family members: Dan the former lawyer who now writes screenplays and is consumed by the demands of his boss, Jan who gave up a career to raise kids and now waits for the moment she's alone so to pour herself a drink, daughter Chloe who's consumed by upcoming college essays and semifinals for state tennis, and son Max who has a vape addiction and in midst of planning revenge against a classmate. Just as the family starts their regular days, the world comes to a stop. With Dan on the train to work, children at school, and Jan at home, everything around them stops with the technological infrastructure coming to a crashing halt which plunges this normal family and everyone else into chaos as they struggle to deal with a life without technology. The story takes place over the course of four days as this family adapts to a water shortage, paramilitary in the neighborhoods, and looting while trying to solve the mystery unfolding around them.

Island Charm – Audrey Wick

Anna Worthington embarks on an unexpected journey after her twin sister is left by her fiance. She comes up with the ultimate plan to cheer her sister up. They're going to transform her should-be honeymoon into a fun vacation to Key West. Things don't go according to plan when her sister doesn't show up on the plane and she's left to take the trip on her own. Her vacation quickly becomes the romantic getaway that she never would have predicted. Gunnar Lockhart has the know-how in island tourism that makes him the perfect partner for Anna to complete her to-do list for this vacation. The two form an undeniable connection that steers her into sorting through her feelings to decide if this connection is real or if it's the result of paradise. Could her vacation romance be doomed like her twin's own relationship?

Summer in the City – Lori Wilde

Venture into summertime in the city with three sizzling stories. Start with /Night of the Museum/ by Lori Wilde which follows Ria Preston, an art restorer who knows all about beauty. When she and her Wall Street advisor crush are stuck in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she sees her chance at admiring more than just the art. Priscilla Oliveras delves into the romance of a blackout in /Lights Out/ about two theater troupe rivals whose high school competitions transition into their adulthood. Mateo Garza is aiming to achieve of his dreams of being a Broadway star while facing the scathing reviews of his former rival Vanessa Rios who now works as a critic. A perfectly timed blackout creates the perfect opportunity for the two to be alone at Mateo's New York apartment which will allow their friction to turn into chemistry. The last story is /Mind Games/ by Sarah Skilton which is a tale of romance and revenge. Alison is still nursing a grudge carried over from her college days against the most popular guy in school who happens to now be a magician. She enacts the perfect plan of revenge. When his upcoming show takes place, she'll sabotage it and ruin him, but a power outage provides her with an opportunity she never expected.

The Road Trip – Beth O'Leary

What happens when two exes take a road trip? There was a time when Dylan and Addie were completely in love. Dylan was a wealthy Oxford student when he spent his vacation his friend Cherry's French villa at the same time carefree Addie was working as the caretaker. That was four years ago. Their relationship lasted two years before they broke up. Now Cherry's getting married and the exes have a literal run-in with each other which is the first time they've spoken since they've broken up. Dylan's car is too banged up to drive to the wedding in rural Scotland, so the only option is for the two exes to make the journey together. To add to their discomfort, they pack into the car with Dylan's best friend, Addie's sister, and some random guy they met on Facebook for a humorous trip across Britain. The close quarters push the exes to confront the tension between them and to finally address what broke them apart two years ago which will lead them question if they were hasty in their break up.


Night Shadows (Star Friends)

In Night Shadows, the newest of the Star Friends series, best friends, Mia, Lexi, Violet, and Sita discover all the plants in the clearing are dying. They wonder if someone has used dark magic to conjure Shades, evil spirits from the Shadow World. When Mia uses her magical powers to look into the past, she sees a woman performing a spell nearby. After the Shades have infiltrated their home front, affecting some of their own parents, together with their Star Animals, they locate the source of the Shades, beckon them out, and send them catapulting back to where they came. At last, their terrain returns to normalcy.

This is a book ripe with mystery and intrigue. It’s about friendship, loyalty, community, and magic. The Star Friends and their favorite furry creatures want what’s best for all, and will stop short of little to achieve it. Youth ages six to nine who enjoy a plethora of twists and turns and magical adventures in a story are perfect candidates for this one. The chapters are short, making it a relatively quick read and ideal for those hesitant to embark on lengthy reading journeys. Additionally, there are adorable illustrations sprinkled throughout, breaking up the content into nice, bite-sized chunks.


Political Roundup

Let’s face it, while it can be pretty hard to understand what’s going on in the world of politics, it’s generally even harder to determine if politicians themselves know what’s happening. The following five books tackle important contemporary political issues and explain the background to them, which should help readers to untangle the mess, see beyond the news reports, and understand why things are happening as well as what can be done to change the situation.

Children Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow Cox

As investigative journalist John Woodrow Cox notes in the opening chapter of Children Under Fire: An American Crisis, gun violence represents a public health crisis in the United States that has long been both drastically underestimated and willfully ignored, and it is having a terrible impact on the nation’s children. In fact, shockingly, on average, one child is shot every hour in the United States, making gunfire the second-leading cause of death among children in the country. Based on a series of articles Cox wrote for the Washington Post, this book examines the tragic effects that guns and gun violence are having on children. Through first-person accounts of those, both adults and children, who have suffered as a result of gun violence, the book highlights how woefully inadequate current gun control laws are and also exposes the individuals and organizations that have a vested interest in keeping them that way. The stories included in the book are heartrending and should prompt even those most committed to the cause of the gun lobby to reflect on what can and should be done to protect America’s children.

When America Stopped Being Great: A History of the Present by Nick Bryant

In When America Stopped Being Great: A History of the Present, Nick Bryant looks back on the major events from the last four decades of American history in an effort to uncover what led to the dramatic and polarizing events that have characterized far more recent history, including the Trump presidency, the Black Lives Matter movement, the storming of the Capital Building, and the (mis)handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through clear prose and powerful imagery, Bryant explains how the optimism that permeated American society following the end of the Cold War was eroded in the decades that followed due to political scandals, economic inequalities, and social immobility, resulting in a society that was more divided than ever before. Bryant argues that this sense of division paved the way for Donald Trump to become president, which led to the further polarization of groups within US society. It’s a deeply personal account that still manages to provide a broad overview of American history, offering suggestions as to what the future may hold.

A Beginner’s Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious by Roya Hakakian

Roya Hakakian fled her homeland of Iran in August 1984 and, after spending months trekking through Europe as a refugee, eventually settled in the United States. In the prologue to A Beginner’s Guide to America: For the Immigrant and Curious, she reflects on how, as a new arrival to the country, she was bombarded with information on the practicalities of being an immigrant to the United States but given next to no advice on how to live as an American, how to fit in, and how to reconcile her old life with the new one. Hakakian notes that while no two immigrants are the same, there are common human experiences and common immigrant experiences, which means that there are understandings, reflections, and puzzlements that could be of benefit to all. She has written this book to elucidate an immigrant’s perspective on life in the United States and so to help both new arrivals and natives expand their understanding of contemporary America. As such, it provides an unflinching, insightful, and sometimes even humorous account of immigrant life from the point of arrival through to naturalization and beyond.

How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights Is Tearing America Apart by Jamal Greene

Despite referencing the existence of certain “inalienable rights,” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the US Constitution actually says very little about the specificities of rights, most likely because the Founders disagreed as to their nature and necessity. In fact, as Jamal Greene notes in How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights Is Tearing America Apart, the Founders preferred to leave the issue of rights to legislatures and juries, not judges, although it was their failure to tackle the issue of racial discrimination that gave rise to the human rights system seen in the United States today. This lack of a structured approach to rights has led to a situation in which the courts will protect the interests they recognize as rights from even the positive interference of democratic politics, while they leave interests that have not been officially recognized as rights to the mercy of the government. The difficulty of determining “true” rights from mere interests was compounded by the explosion in rights seeking that characterized 1960s America, and the situation is no more clear today. Greene elucidates the need to reconceptualize rights and to link them more closely to justice before the divisions in contemporary society cause irreparable damage.

The Spirit of Green: The Economics of Collisions and Contagions in a Crowded World by William D. Nordhaus

In writing The Spirit of Green: The Economics of Collisions and Contagions in a Crowded World, William D. Nordhaus, who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for “integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis,” sought to address the challenges posed by economic growth and globalization and the unintended consequences of the two. The consequence of particular interest to him is climate change, and many of the ideas presented in the book are intended to help slow that process. Due to focusing on the issues from an economic perspective, Nordhaus discusses how both public and private institutions can be harnessed to identify effective solutions to the challenges facing industrialized societies. He also seeks to answer a wide range of social, political, and economic questions from what he terms the “Green” perspective, focusing on issues such as pollution, global warming, and inequality. Nordhaus clearly sets out his Green philosophy and establishes its potential applications in globalized and technologically sophisticated societies. He suggests concrete Green steps that can be taken to help save the planet, ranging from increasing the incentives associated with the use of Green energy to improving ethical norms for both individuals and companies. In doing all this, Nordhaus succeeds in rendering complex discussions highly readable.


Books to Celebrate National Cancer Survivor Month

The month of June is National Cancer Survivor Month, a time when many reflect on their and their loved ones’ experiences of cancer treatment and survivorship. A diagnosis of cancer raises many questions and concerns, and even after having survived the disease, people are often left with unresolved issues and anxieties. There are numerous books available about living with and treating cancer, and the following titles might be of interest to those looking to expand their understanding of the multifaceted disease that is cancer.

The Living Room: A Lung Cancer Community of Courage by Bonnie J. Addario

The Living Room support and education group was launched by Bonnie Addario and her family to help, nurture, and champion lung cancer patients and their caregivers. The group’s remit is a wide one. Indeed, as Addario’s daughter Danielle comments in the introduction to The Living Room: A Lung Cancer Community of Courage, the group provides “a safe place to meet and talk about everything from high-level things like advanced genomic testing to eating mashed potatoes because the drugs you’re taking are not letting you keep anything down.” Addario is herself a seventeen-year survivor of lung cancer as well as being the co-founder and chair of the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. Her work as an activist on behalf of cancer patients prompted her to recognize the importance of community to those who are suffering, which led to the formation of the support group. Now, in The Living Room, Addario presents the stories of twenty lung cancer patients and survivors who have found ways to both live with the disease and thrive. They are difficult and emotive stories, but they are also uplifting and inspiring. Those featured in the book have found ways to overcome the obstacles put in front of them by cancer and to continue pursing their dreams while fighting the disease.

Your Cancer Road Map: Navigating Life With Resilience by Kim Thiboldeaux

The Cancer Support Community (CSC) is a professionally led nonprofit network that provides cancer support to individuals worldwide. The organization is dedicated to ensuring that all those impacted by cancer, whether patients, relatives/friends, or caregivers, have the knowledge, help, and support they require on their cancer journey. Kim Thiboldeaux is the executive chair of the CSC and she has written Your Cancer Road Map: Navigating Life With Resilience to explain in a straightforward and user-friendly way all the physical, emotional, financial, and logistical challenges associated with a cancer diagnosis and the subsequent treatment. The book represents an almost exhaustive resource when it comes to the concerns and queries commonly raised by cancer patients, including how to choose from among treatment options, how to talk about fertility issues, and how to go about planning end-of-life care. Thiboldeaux aims to provide readers with all the tools necessary to fully participate in their care and to make informed decisions regarding various cancer-related matters. The book’s impact is enhanced by the inclusion of personal stories by some of those, both celebrities and everyday folks, whose lives have been touched by cancer.

Cancer as a Wake-Up Call: An Oncologist’s Integrative Approach to What You Can Do to Become Whole Again by M. Laura Nasi

Dr. M. Laura Nasi, a specialist in integrative oncology, has over twenty-five years of experience working with cancer patients in hospitals around the world. Her medical education and her initial years as a doctor provided her with a strong theoretical understanding of cancer and other diseases as well as extensive practical experience of conventional treatment modalities. However, the realization that medical developments depend too heavily on economic concerns and that her own view of cancer treatment, which was fostered by her traditional medical education and training, was overly narrow prompted her to pursue a more holistic approach. In Cancer as a Wake-Up Call, Nasi explains how she sought to integrate the Eastern spiritual worlds that fascinated her with the Western approach to cancer treatment that predominated in the hospitals in which she worked. As part of her desire to understand the disease process, she chose to focus on the cancer patient as a whole (mind, body, and spirit), rather than solely on the physical manifestations of the disease. In the book, Nasi details the various spiritual techniques, such as meditation and visualization, that she has found to benefit cancer patients alongside more conventional therapies.

Novel Approach to Curing Cancer by Jianqing Wu and Ping Zha

In Novel Approach to Curing Cancer, Jianqing Wu and Ping Zha detail a new methodology for treating all kinds of cancers. Starting from the two traditional pillars of cancer treatment, that is, the use of drugs and the basic treatment model, the authors suggest that so long as anti-cancer drugs have side effects and have to be administered periodically, they cannot be considered true cures. The idea is that no drug can destroy all kinds of cancer cells, and further, that cancer cells reproduce so quickly that any gaps in treatment allow them to take hold once again. The stories of various celebrities who died as a result of cancer are used to illustrate this idea. The authors suggest that the only way to truly overcome cancer is to understand three key factors: speed, number, and multiplication. They base their methodology on traditional Chinese medicine, modern disease theories, recent medical discoveries, and stories of people’s miraculous recoveries from cancer. As such, the book makes for interesting reading, although it is more geared toward the cancer researcher’s perspective than the cancer patient’s experience. It could be a useful and informative book for those looking to expand their theoretical understanding of the different approaches to treating cancer.

The Write Treatment Anthology Volume I 2011-2016: Writings by Cancer Patients, Survivors, and Caregivers from the Write Treatment Workshops at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Beth Israel Cancer Centers, NYC edited by Emily Rubin

Emily Rubin, herself a cancer survivor, runs weekly creative writing workshops for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers at the Mount Sinai Hospitals in New York City. During the workshops, Rubin makes use of writing prompts, photographs, and inspirational quotes to inspire attendees’ writing, and while some do opt to write about their cancer diagnosis and treatment, many choose to let their creativity flow far more freely and imagine things far beyond the world of cancer. The people who participate in the writing workshops are a diverse bunch, with varying lives, beliefs, and experiences, and their writings reflect that diversity. The Write Treatment Anthology Volume I 2011-2016 collects personal essays, stories, and poems written by twenty-three people who attended Rubin’s workshops during the relevant period, and taken together, it is a hugely inspiring body of work. The tales they tell range from the hilarious to the tragic, the sublime to the ridiculous, and there are more than a few thought-provoking moments.

Whole Body Healing: Create Your Own Path to Physical, Emotional, Energetic and Spiritual Wellness by Emily A. Francis

For those looking to complement their physician-led medical treatment and improve their overall health, Whole Body Healing: Create Your Own Path to Physical, Emotional, Energetic and Spiritual Wellness by Emily A. Francis offers the tools, techniques, and confidence necessary to design and implement an individually tailored holistic treatment regimen. As the title suggests, Francis aims to address every aspect of the individual reader’s wellbeing (physical, emotional, energetic, and spiritual) in an integrated way in order to facilitate lasting positive changes. The book explores both traditional and modern alternative therapy techniques, ranging from homeopathy to Ayurveda to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, meaning that readers have a wide range of options to consider. The goal is to achieve balance in what Francis considers to be an increasingly unbalanced world. Francis’ ideas regarding certain medical conditions and, therefore, the contents of the book are certainly not without controversy, although it does suggest a number of promising and proven avenues that readers might find worthy of pursuing as part of their quest for better health.


After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond

Dr. Bruce Greyson, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia, began his career wanting to understanding the human brain and what it was that made people tick. His goal was always to help those who needed help, and he found a way to do so which spawned what became known as NDEs, or “near death experiences.” Originally working and learning of these NDEs with Dr. Raymond Moody, bestselling author of Life After Life, he has spent the last forty years collecting these unique stories from people who apparently died for a little while and then were brought back to life.

Greyson is not religious and approaches the phenomena of NDEs from a scientific perspective, categorizing and grouping them together to try to understand their commonalities. What’s incredible is that cases of NDEs go back to ancient times, and Greyson shares some of these old stories along with a plethora of newer ones he has collected throughout his career. Using what evidence he can, he provides a new perspective on NDEs and discusses possible theories of what death might actually be, and whether there could be anything after.


Deceptions: A Helena Marsh Novel (A Helena Marsh Novel, 2)

Ominous Reads

If you’re looking to escape to a dangerous world populated by sinister characters and characterized by all manner of danger and deception this autumn, then the following six thrillers could be just what you’re after:

Deceptions (A Helena Marsh Novel, 2) by Anna Porter

In Deceptions, the second outing for art expect, martial arts master, and superb amateur sleuth Helena Marsh, former Budapest policeman Attila Feher thinks he has the perfect ruse to reconnect with his ex-lover: he intends to ask Helena to appraise a painting and determine if it really is a work by the famous artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Unfortunately for Feher, his plans are quickly derailed by the fact that Eastern European gangsters also seem to be interested in the painting, which has the potential to expose corruption at the highest levels of Hungarian society. As the bodies begin to pile up, Feher has reason to be glad that he sought Helena’s help, although maybe not the reason he was initially hoping for. In Helena Marsh, Anna Porter has created an enigmatic and dynamic heroine who really knows how to kick ass and take names. She has a great nose for a mystery, and she’s definitely not worried about getting her hands dirty.

Tell Me the Truth (Adler and Dwyer, 2) by Matthew Farrell

Jenny Moore might be pleased to finally be leaving for college, but she’s the only one who seems to think it’s a good idea that she leaves the town of Lewisboro, New York and all the memories it holds behind. In fact, there’s at least one person who’s willing to go to any lengths to stop her from going. When Jenny’s mother finds her stabbed and left for dead outside their family home, state police investigator Susan Adler and consultant Liam Dwyer are called in to investigate the attack. They can immediately tell that something is very wrong in the town; they are confronted with a surfeit of suspects and it seems that pretty much everyone is hiding behind lies and deception. Tell Me the Truth by Matthew Farrell is the second crime thriller to feature Adler and Dwyer, and it’s a seriously suspenseful police procedural in which nothing is what it seems and no one seems capable of telling the truth.

Her Last Breath by Hilary Davidson

Deidre is devastated to learn that her sister Caroline is dead, but she’s in for an even greater shock. Some time after hearing of Caroline’s death, Deidre receives a message that her sister had written days earlier, a message that claimed her forthcoming death would be no accident. Despite having been estranged from her family for years, Deidre decides to brave the trip to Manhattan to attend Caroline’s funeral, and while she’s there, to investigate the circumstances behind her sister’s death. A frightening encounter with Caroline’s husband Theo at the funeral raises the possibility that she might have been having an affair, which suggests a possible reason for her death. Deidre decides to dig deeper, however dangerous that might prove. Her Last Breath by Hilary Davidson is a dark and twisted thriller than is permeated by a sense of menace and danger. It’s a fast-paced story characterized by blistering psychological suspense.

Vortex (An FBI Thriller, 25) by Catherine Coulter

Mia Briscoe’s best friend Serena disappeared seven years ago during a college rave that ended in tragedy when a fire broke out. Now working as an investigative journalist in New York, Mia is covering her regular political beat when she happens upon some photos from the night Serena vanished. Working with FBI Agent Sherlock to track back through the events of that night, Mia soon realizes that powerful figures may have strong reasons for keeping what happened to Serena hushed up. Meanwhile, Agent Savich is working with CIA operative Olivia Hildebrandt to uncover what happened to a missing member of her team and the flash drive he was tasked with protecting. As the two investigations proceed and converge, the danger level rises as the intrigue deepens. Catherine Coulter is on top form with this twenty-fifth installment in her FBI Thriller series, and the events of Vortex are sure to set readers’ hearts racing.

Breeder by Honni van Rijswijk

Sometime in the not too distant future, in a world ruled by the sinister Corporation, fifteen-year-old Will Meadows is doing his best to survive in Zone F, the most run-down and deprived ring of the Corporation. Will has to maintain his productivity if he is to avoid being sent to the Rator, but he knows that he’s lucky compared with the Zone F Breeders: they are born into debt and can only escape through participating in the Corporation’s reproduction program. When Will risks traveling to the less restricted Gray Zone, he gains a job from a corrupt Corporation official and finds a friend in Alex, a Breeder who is on the run. Things seem to be looking up for Will and Alex, but when their happiness leads to complacency, they risk losing everything they’ve worked for. Breeder by Honni van Rijswijk is a futuristic thriller set in a dystopian world where everyday life is terrifying and dangerous for the majority. It’s a scary but all too believable story.

Arrow’s Rest (The Offshore Novels, 3) by Joel Scott

Joel Scott’s Arrow’s Rest is a nautical thriller that certainly makes a splash. When fisherman Jared Kane sets out to find the perpetrators behind a sadistic assault on a female acquaintance, he ends up discovering far more than he bargained on. It seems that the assault is linked to a particularly dangerous criminal network with links to those in high political office. Events seem to center on an exclusive yacht club, which Jared considers to be the perfect place to moor his own rather more downmarket yacht, Arrow. With the help of his friend Danny MacLean, Jared sets about investigating all of the shady goings-on at the club, eventually embarking on a deadly chase through the Salish Sea that ends in tragedy for the Arrow and her crew. The thrilling storyline and healthy dose of danger make for an excellent slice of crime on the high seas.