Kaitlyn Greenidge
[isbn]
Based on a true story, the lives of Libertie and her mother are both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I was especially captured by the narrative voice (Libertie’s) as she interprets both the rich natural world, the cruel residue of slavery, and navigates her life, coming of age both unsure and yet with keen insight. This is a powerful book and beautifully written.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Paraic O'Donnell
[isbn]
I love a Victorian mystery but The House on Vesper Sands wowed me. The dialogue is pitch-perfect and at times outright hilarious. Add a creepy church, missing urchins, a ghostly woman, a crumbling mansion, and a villain of perfect Oscar Wilde proportions. This is a great, fun, breathtaking read.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Tana French
[isbn]
Tana French's latest is set in a small Irish village and features a retired Chicago cop. It's richly atmospheric. Like all French's work, it is dark and utterly compelling.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Rebecca Roanhorse
[isbn]
The first of a trilogy based on ancient Aztec and Mayan mythology, Roanhorse has created a marvel of world-building and populated it with fascinating, fantastical characters. I loved the hard drinking, mermaid sea captain. This wonderful read left me anxiously waiting for the rest of the story.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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V. E. Schwab
[isbn]
I rarely read fantasy, but this story pulled me compulsively through all 600 pages, from France in the 1700s to current day NYC. Addie LaRue makes a deal with "darkness" for immortality, only the catch is that no one will remember her once she is out of sight. This makes Addie's 300-year adventure a fascinating challenge and a great tale of choosing life despite crippling loneliness, forging a career as an artistic muse, outwitting the "dark,"... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Elena Ferrante and Ann Goldstein
[isbn]
Based on my love for Ferrante's Neopolitan Quartet, I'm waiting impatiently for this new offering. Again set in Naples, featuring class struggle and a young woman's coming-of-age, this promises to be classic Ferrante.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Anthony Horowitz
[isbn]
Horowitz returns to the wonderful characters from Magpie Murders and revisits the book-within-a-book plotting device. It works again, brilliantly, in this bright, modern homage to Agatha Christie.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Benjamin Moser
[isbn]
Moser has given us the definitive biography of Susan Sontag. It is magisterial in sweep, deftly weaving precise analysis of her work and thought processes with details of her fabulous, engaged public and tortured private lives. The Sontag on offer is brilliant, prescient (scarily so), horrific, thoughtless, vulnerable, and enchanting. This is a deep dive, endlessly illuminating both the woman, her times, and the people she knew (and she knew... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Cara Wall
[isbn]
I was completely undone by this quiet story of two pastors and their families in 1960s NYC. Expecting a small story, instead I found a profound, empathetic portrait of good people, their joys and sorrows, that is monumental in its humanity.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Erin Morgenstern
[isbn]
I loved this impressive, totally immersive tale of a magical library. Morgenstern follows Night Circus with a tour de force of opulent fantasy and compelling adventure.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Tana French
[isbn]
French's latest is a brilliant psychological mystery. It left me feeling deeply unsettled, in the very best way. It is an intelligent, painful examination of familial bonds. It questions the price of embracing the dark night of the soul and the moral danger inherent in close examination of individual intent, in facing truths clouded by time, personality, and affection. It also has a creepy mansion, a long dead body, conflicted characters, a... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Kate Atkinson
[isbn]
Atkinson has created a memorable character in Juliet Armstrong. Her voice is strong, witty, and acerbic. Juliet, a young recruit for British Intelligence in the early days of WWII, is pragmatic, resourceful, and nowhere near as jaded as she thinks she is. This is a thrilling novel even when showing the very unglamorous side of spy work. Juliet, brave, unflappable, lonely, and sad, is a character I loved and will remember.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Celeste Ng
[isbn]
When mysterious artist Mia Warren and her daughter settle in suburban Shaker Heights, Ohio, their lives intersect with the Richardson family. The results are devastating to all. Ng has created a cast of characters who could be shallow stereotypes, but she gives each person a complex inner life that is achingly tender and fundamentally, understandably human. Blinded by good intentions, undone by kindness, and wounded by casual, if unintentional... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Amor Towles
[isbn]
In 1922 Moscow, Count Alexander Rostov is declared a non-person and sentenced to live his remaining days in the Hotel Metropol — or he will be shot by the Red Guard. Rostov's banishment includes moving from his grand suite to a remote attic room. Nevertheless, Rostov is undaunted, and life in the elegant Metropol provides him friendships, love, and purpose. His adventures in confinement are comic, enchanting, and heartwarming even as the... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Michael Ondaatje
[isbn]
In a sunny garden, teenagers Nathaniel and Rachael are told that their parents are leaving them for a year... with their mysterious lodger. After this, the story turns to a nocturnal world of lightless river journeys, trysts in unlit houses, and whispering woods at night. Ondaatje has created a shadow world, and traces the impact on young lives of things half-known. Unaccountably luminous, it is a portrait of the shock and beauty hidden in the... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Mark Helprin
[isbn]
To me, Helprin doesn't so much write as seduce. His exquisite prose creates worlds and characters that are immediate and overwhelmingly romantic. I loved this story of a profoundly good man struggling with the wounds of his past to create, against all odds, a future for his family. And Paris! Ah Paris! Never has the city been so perfectly rendered.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Liam Callanan
[isbn]
The setting, a bookshop in Paris, intrigued me. The first line hooked me. While some aspects of this tale are reminiscent of The Little Paris Bookshop, the larger story of a family searching for a missing father is so much more. Beautifully written, it questions the nature of parenting, marriage, and what we tell ourselves about love. But too, there is the bookstore and the mystery of connection and truth that books offer. Wonderful!
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Louis Bayard
[isbn]
Louis Bayard has written a fabulous piece of historical fiction. You fall right into the wild prairie town of Springfield, Illinois, in the 1840s, and are captivated by young Lincoln as he learns the ways of polite society from his friend Joshua Speed. The story is told alternately by Mary Todd as she chafes against societal strictures and confuses herself by falling for the rough-hewn but charismatic Lincoln. Bayard has created three memorable... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Abi Maxwell
[isbn]
This story of two women separated by time but united by place and suffering for their sexuality is written with eerie beauty. It haunts and soothes as if told at night by campfire.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Lili Anolik
[isbn]
Lili Anolik has indulged her obsession with the life, times, and writings of LA author Eve Babitz and created a fascinating observation of the ’70s arts scene on "the other coast." This very nontraditional biography provides the reader with a multifaceted portrait of an outsize and unforgettable talent, Babitz, and of a time and place little known or understood beyond the glitz. I'm so glad Anolik introduced me to Eve.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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James Mustich
[isbn]
As a lifelong passionate reader, this epic compilation enthralled me. It's not only a brilliant guide to what to read next, but a satisfying read all on its own, with illustrations and fascinating sidebars of information.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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G Willow Wilson
[isbn]
This was one of the most enjoyable books I've read in some time. It was rich in historical detail, full of fantastical adventure yet thoughtfully engaging on topics like personal freedom and tolerance. Fatima, the Sultan's concubine, and Hassan, his mapmaker, escape the palace chased by... wait for it... the Spanish Inquisition! They are aided by Vikram, a djinn you won't soon forget. It's fun. It's sad. It's a rousing, grand, mystical, magical... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Eli Saslow
[isbn]
I cannot stress this enough: This book is important and necessary. Anyone concerned about the deep divides in American politics must read this book. Saslow is a brilliant reporter and the story of how a young leader of the white nationalist movement was engaged, befriended, challenged, and ultimately changed by college friends who deeply disagreed with his politics is an example of the rays of hope that we need right now. It's also a terrifying... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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John Boyne
[isbn]
What if Tom Ripley wanted nothing more than to be an acclaimed writer? Meet Maurice Swift. He's a charmer who will steal a story or take a life without a care. Boyne beautifully captures Swift's rise and fall with compelling multiple narrations. I especially loved Maurice's run-in with a fictional Gore Vidal. Vidal's luxurious vitriol just drips from the page. It's a chiller and Maurice is a character you won't soon forget.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Rene Denfeld
[isbn]
Rene Denfeld has always won huge support from my fellow booksellers, but this was my first time reading her. Wow! What took me so long? I really loved this tale of children lost and found. It's set in the PNW and is atmospheric, beautiful, and haunting.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Jonathan Lethem
[isbn]
Lethem sets his brilliant, funny thriller between the election and inauguration of Trump, and the main character is seething with NYC neurotic rage even as she is plunged into a world she can't comprehend. Phoebe is looking for a friend's missing daughter and is guided by a laid-back detective called Heist. He knows the fringe worlds of SoCal all too well, and soon he and Phoebe are trying to survive complete Mojave madness. It's an outrageous,... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Lou Berney
[isbn]
A woman and her daughters meet a charming gangster on the lam on iconic Route 66. Now traveling together, he uses them as cover. It's the Great American Road Trip except for the hot pursuit of some very bad dudes. Berney gets everything right, including seedy, neon-lit Las Vegas and some seriously crazy killers.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Anthony Horowitz
[isbn]
When editor Susan Ryeland receives the latest manuscript from her difficult but bestselling author, she dives right in and so does the reader. The new book is written in the best tradition of Agatha Christie, but it abruptly stops short of the end. How frustrating! Susan knows something is wrong, especially when the author turns up dead. She begins to investigate. What follows is as engaging as the mystery within a mystery, full of clever clues,... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Francis Spufford
[isbn]
NYC in 1746 is a frontier village, just beginning to grow into its identity as the economic powerhouse of the American colonies. The author creates a lively cast of characters, drawn to life on the very fringes of the known world. A mysterious young man arrives from London with an outrageous line of credit, immediately alerting society in the city. He is dangerous, but no one can figure out exactly how or why. Spufford has mastered the art of... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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A J Finn
[isbn]
Was it a murder she saw? This well-written take on Rear Window is a riveting, darkly psychological thriller. Anna Fox, the main character, is flawed, agoraphobic, and heavily self-medicated, but gosh, the lady has moxie!
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Rachel Joyce
[isbn]
Only vinyl! The Music Shop is a haven for music lovers of all types and Frank, the owner, can find that one perfect song to heal the soul. Joyce has created a cast of characters who are enchantingly eccentric and a love story full of sadness, kindness, hope, and quiet despair. Throughout the book we listen in as Frank's dead mother teaches him the joys of music from Miles Davis to Handel. The Music Shop is charming without sap and will... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Nick Petrie
[isbn]
I really want this series to catch fire. Petrie has created a great character in Peter Ash. This story of a cannabis cash hijacking is rip-roaring, fast-paced, and exciting. If you enjoy a top-notch thriller, discover Nick Petrie.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Alice Hoffman
[isbn]
Practical Magic remains one of my favorite Alice Hoffman novels. Rules of Magic is a prequel that tells the story of the Owens family, focusing especially on siblings Franny, Jet, and Vincent. They are children of the '60s, both cursed and blessed by their witch bloodline. This is Hoffman at her magical best and Rules is now a new favorite.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Claire Messud
[isbn]
Messud has crafted a pitch-perfect portrait of a childhood friendship that changes with the profound stresses of adolescence. Reading it was an immersive experience; it is tender and heartbreaking. The Burning Girl dives to the primal core of girls and will stay with me for a very long time.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Erik Axl Sund
[isbn]
This dark tale of a gruesome serial killer tracked by a police detective and a psychologist is an unflinching look at the multi-generational damage caused by violence and abuse. I was thoroughly engrossed in the police procedural, but the larger story of innocence taken and survival by revenge or forgiveness and sometimes healing was the real heart of this disturbing psychological thriller. The Crow Girl is as black as a Swedish winter... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Benjamin Percy
[isbn]
This is a riveting supernatural tale set in Portland, Oregon and in the hellish world of the virtual dark places of the internet. Percy makes Portland a truly creepy place, and I will never again feel comfortable in Powell's after closing. Plus, the intrepid band of demon fighters includes a heroic German Shepherd named Hemingway. Irresistible!
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Augustus Rose
[isbn]
Lee is 17. She's been framed on false drug charges and sentenced to a Juvenile Detention Facility where life is hellish. Lee escapes and goes on the run, falling into a dangerous world of sinister raves, secret societies, urban exploration, hacking, and the Darknet. Lee is a feisty survivor and her adventures are fantastical. I burned through this great book.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Michael Connelly
[isbn]
Connelly takes the reader back inside the fraught and dangerous world of the LAPD. This time we follow Detective Renee Ballard, languishing on the midnight shift but determined to see several cases through to their ends. Ballard is a great character. She's tough, smart and deeply quirky. Connelly has another winner with Ballard, and nobody writes the dark world of the LAPD better.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Matthew Sullivan
[isbn]
Why did Joey Molina commit suicide in the bookstore he loved? Bookseller Lydia finds clues in his book collection, and they lead her into the darkness of her own childhood. This is an excellent mystery complete with a fabulous bookstore setting.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Al Franken
[isbn]
Today I read that the man who swore to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States declared that same constitution bad for the country (sigh). I'm glad I just finished Al Franken: Giant of the Senate. Franken is whip-smart (read the book, you'll laugh), outspoken and a transparent, unapologetic, democratic lover of America. It's Al Franken! Of course the book is hilarious. Of course it contains a number of... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Dennis Lehane
[isbn]
Lehane has created another standout thriller. This one features a female protagonist and Lehane captures her completely as she struggles with the wounds of a missing father and an ice-cold, withholding mother. When her career implodes, Rachel is beset by crippling panic attacks, helped only by a husband who turns out not to be what he seems. As she begins to realize the depth of this latest betrayal, Rachel goes on the offensive and into a... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Nina George
[isbn]
This romantic tale of reinvention is set in the magical land of Brittany, France. Nina George has delivered another delightful love story full of charming characters.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Emma Cline
[isbn]
Debut author Cline takes the bones of the infamous Manson cult murders and uses the altered details to frame the story of teenager Evie Boyd. While I found the story compelling on several levels, the profound insights on a young woman's interior life proved to be what drew me in. This is a great read on so many levels.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Chris Cleave
[isbn]
This novel completely surprised me. I expected a well-told tale of life and love during the London Blitz. It was that and so much more. The beautifully drawn characters are brave, loyal, plucky, smart, and witty. They are also flawed, afraid, careless, and cowardly in the most heartbreaking of ways. The damage of war, from bomb devastation to the broken minds of shattered soldiers, is portrayed with gritty detail and beautiful language. The love... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Ellen Meeropol
[isbn]
This haunting, beautifully written novel examines the relationship of a communal "made up" family that has dissolved after a tragedy. Over time the relationships expand and contract, weaving a cat's cradle of connection, support, love, and pain as real and complex as any traditional nuclear family. I just wanted to hug all of the characters as they struggled to carve out lives while dealing with disease, death, new love, environmental concerns,... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Martin Seay
[isbn]
I enjoyed this so much. It worked on every level, and as different as the three Venices were, Seay wove the stories together seamlessly into an engaging, thought-provoking whole.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Kathleen Rooney
[isbn]
Kathleen Rooney has created a fully realized and compelling character in Lillian Boxfish. I just loved getting to know Lillian as she strolls Manhattan on New Year's Eve, 1984. One of the first successful female copywriters and a popular poet of the '20s and '30s, Lillian is still, in her 85th year, whip smart, witty, and profoundly truthful about herself and those she has known and loved in her long life. The novel is also a poem to the city of... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Keggie Carew
[isbn]
Keggie Carew has written a profound and moving tribute to her father. She details his incredible wartime exploits leading resistance fighters behind enemy lines in both France and Burma, and weaves the story of growing up with his anti-authoritarian, devil-may-care ways with the sad story of his descent into dementia. Tom Carew was a fascinating man and a wonderful if maddening father. Written in beautiful prose, this memoir is one of the best... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Joan Juliet Buck
[isbn]
Writer Joan Juliet Buck's memoir is a glittering tragic thing. Even as she recounts a life lived among movie stars, the fashion elite (she was editor of Paris Vogue), and literary icons, she laments a life that was played on the surface and in thrall to artifice. All this would make a fun read, but Buck is a good writer and, almost despite herself, drops in moments that are sweet and magical.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Peter Heller
[isbn]
Celine is an elegant New York socialite in her 80s. She creates sculptures from dead animal bones and is a successful private investigator. Loosely basing the novel on the life of his own mother, Heller skillfully weaves the details of Celine's unlikely story into the tale of a woman's search for her missing father. The writing lushly describes the natural world. In contrast, the dialogue is crisp and precise. While the mystery is thoroughly... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Claire Fuller
[isbn]
Twelve years after Ingrid Coleman has disappeared, her dying husband and daughters are still haunted in very different ways by the loss that can't be explained or understood. As they try to come to terms with the unknowable and the inevitable, we read the mother's story through a series of letters she left hidden in books throughout the house. Fuller has written a profound portrait of marriage, motherhood, and loss. It is a beautiful, devastating... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Nicholas Petrie
[isbn]
This is the second installment in a great new series that will appeal to fans of Lee Child. Damaged Iraqi war vet Peter Ash is again wandering the forests of the West trying to find relief for PTSD-related claustrophobia when he happens on a woman being pursued by a group of black-op type killers. Ash jumps into the chase and the action proceeds nonstop. Like the first book, The Drifter, this story is an edgy, adrenaline-pumped thrill... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Nicholas Petrie
[isbn]
If you like Lee Child you will love this new thriller. Peter Ash is a wandering Iraqi vet haunted by his war and suffering from debilitating PTSD that manifests in extreme claustrophobia. He is also able to use his military skills with an unnerving willingness to protect the family of a fellow soldier who may have committed suicide. This is taut, edgy, and fresh while also offering the best of an action-packed thriller.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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John Connolly
[isbn]
John Connolly's latest in the Charlie Parker series delivers high-octane action and supernatural chills. Parker reluctantly takes on a case for an ex-con who claims he was framed and who fears for his life. His disappearance leads Parker to the reclusive Appalachian community known as The Cut. The inhabitants are truly scary "hill people." If you haven't read Connolly and enjoy a spookier noir thriller, this installment will send you power... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Jeffrey Toobin
[isbn]
I thought I knew the story of Patty Hearst: heiress, kidnap victim, and possible terrorist. Toobin brings his excellent journalist's instinct to an old story and clearly illuminates a troubled time in American history that still has meaning in today's world. Deftly sifting through a mass of detail, Toobin tells an outrageous story peopled by a huge cast of larger-than-life characters. The reporting is balanced and insightful. This is an amazing,... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Paula McLain
[isbn]
Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife, tells the fascinating story of real-life flying pioneer Beryl Markham. McLain creates a strong voice for Markham, a motherless child growing up wild in early 20th century Kenya who courageously forges her own life against all odds. Kenya is almost another character, described in all its beauty and danger. This will be a good choice for book club and summer reading lists.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Rinker Buck
[isbn]
Rinker Buck tells a grand adventure tale of traveling the original Oregon Trail in a covered wagon with his brother Nick and a scrappy terrier pulled by a team of heroic mules. Along the way he relates the fascinating history of the trail and beautifully describes the glories of the American West.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Lyndsay Faye
[isbn]
This is a retelling of Jane Eyre, except this Jane is a swearing, swaggering, murdering, horse-galloping governess in disguise. The atmosphere is wonderfully Dickensian with some Wilkie Collins mixed in. It's fun and it will make you want to swash your buckle and say, "Egads, woman!"
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Robert Galbraith
[isbn]
Although this is the third in the series, it can easily stand alone. But if you start here, you'll definitely read the other two. Detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacourt are engrossing characters, flawed yet brave, idealistic yet street smart. Galbraith (Rowling) has created a corker of a mystery series, and Career of Evil is the best yet. Warning! There are some deeply creepy scenes, so you might want to make sure... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Elizabeth J Church
[isbn]
I really loved this story of a brilliant woman navigating the needs of intellect, marriage, and the closed community of atomic scientists in the '40s. Her struggles are told with an even-handed passion and a love for the natural world. This is a wonderful addition to women's lit that transcends the originators with a balance and maturity that is admirable.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Larry Watson
[isbn]
After the death of his wife, Cal Sidey abandoned his children for the life of a solitary ranch hand in Montana. Years later, in 1963, his son Bill asks his father to return home to look after the grandchildren while Bill takes his wife across the state for a medical operation. Cal returns even though "redemption isn't in his vocabulary." The powerful story of Cal's visit is a tragedy of narrowly missed moments as Cal attempts re-entry into a... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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