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The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

February 2022

THE OVERNIGHT GUEST by Heather Gudenkauf has a chilling setting, literally and figuratively. Wylie Lark, a true crime writer, is snowed in while finishing her new book in a house where, decades earlier, two people were murdered and a young girl disappeared. As a blizzard swirls outside, she finds a child in the snow --- which begins her reckoning that the story she is writing may not end up the way she thinks.

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Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

February 2022

GREENWICH PARK is such a strong debut novel. The plot came to Katherine Faulkner when she was in a prenatal class. Since all the women were pregnant, there was a feeling that they all should be friends.

In the book, Helen attends her first prenatal class and has a strange encounter with Rachel, who is also pregnant and immediately attaches herself to Helen in what feels like a smothering kind of friendship. At first, Helen appreciates the companionship. But as time goes on, Rachel becomes more erratic, and Helen begins feeling like she needs to find a way to escape this irrational creature. Rachel is everywhere that Helen is; it’s as if she has a GPS finder on Helen’s back.

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The Maid by Nita Prose

January 2022

In Nita Prose’s debut novel, THE MAID, Molly Gray is a socially challenged hotel maid who prides herself on delivering top service to the guests at the Regency Grand Hotel. One day, she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black and finds him dead in his bed. All fingers point to Molly as the killer, so she works to unravel the mystery of what happened to Mr. Black to free herself as a suspect. Molly’s life has been shaped by the words of her Gran, who died a few months ago. She approaches each seemingly insurmountable task by sharing what her Gran would have said to do.

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The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

January 2022

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE STREET is the latest book from Diane Chamberlain. While I loved her previous effort, BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN, this one surpasses it as my favorite. The novel takes place in the mid-'60s, during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, and in the year 2010. Some characters overlap, which is not often the case with dual storylines. Here, questions can be answered by folks who are still around, though whether or not they are being totally truthful remains to be seen.

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Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

January 2022

As Xochitl Gonzalez’s debut novel, OLGA DIES DREAMING, started, I was thinking that it was going to be a light read. Olga is running a wedding planning business for the elite, and the tone has just the sense of humor you would expect from a really smart rom-com. But quickly I realized it was something more.

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Going There by Katie Couric

December 2021

Years ago, I thought being a host of a morning show would be a great career for me. Then I realized that I would be heading to work around 3:45am to do that job, and since I am not a morning person, I decided that never was going to happen. That said, I have been intrigued by network television, both for what goes into making a broadcast behind the scenes and how it has changed since its early days.

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Everything We Didn't Say by Nicole Baart

November 2021

In EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T SAY, Nicole Baart has penned a slow-burn thriller set in a small Iowa town.

Juniper Baker is back. Ostensibly she’s there to help a friend who has taken ill and to work with her at the local library. But coming back for Juniper means she needs to confront just a few things. First, there’s the teenage daughter she left behind --- the one who's been raised by her mother and stepmother. Then there are the neighbors nearby who were brutally murdered around the time she took off. Her younger brother was the lead suspect.

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Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

October 2021

Liane Moriarty returns with APPLES NEVER FALL, which is a family tale. Bring on the Delaneys, who are well-known and loved in their Sydney suburb. For years, Joy and Stan ran a tennis academy that turned out champions, including their own four children. Now they have sold this family business and are trying to kick their lives back a notch, but this is proving to be pretty challenging. They seem to miss the sound of the ball smacking its way onto the court just a bit too much. They miss the energy of competition.

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The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

October 2021

Lisa Jewell has told me that her books always start with some little idea that she expands upon. For THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED, I guessed that it was a sign that read “Dig Here,” but alas I was wrong. She said that the impetus was thinking about a posh boarding school and the people who went there. What would happen to them as they moved together on this campus? And how about layering in a student who does not come from money? What happens then?

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Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

October 2021

I am a huge fan of Alice Feeney’s writing. She is an author who knows how to write a killer twist, but more importantly, she never makes you feel like you’ve been tricked. Instead, she shows you how you just might have missed what happened with her ever so sleight of hand.

In ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, we have Mr. and Mrs. Wright, which are just perfect wry names for the lead characters. With names like these, truly what could go wrong? They are headed to Scotland, but what is billed as an idyllic getaway immediately feels like anything but. Maybe it’s the fog outside or the storm brewing between them. You see, Adam and Amelia have not been in a good place in their relationship for a while, but they are not admitting that to each other. Sure, they are talking about therapy, but they are more “talking at it” to each other. They are treating this adventure that they have won like a wonderful escape to “bring them closer together.” It’s just what they need! You can hear their enthusiasm, as false as it is.

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