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Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

February 2025

PRESUMED GUILTY is Scott Turow’s third book featuring Rusty Sabich as his protagonist. Many of us remember reading PRESUMED INNOCENT and INNOCENT, so I was happy to catch up with this iconic character again.

Rusty is now 77, living in a quiet town and working his way towards retirement. He’s in a relationship with a woman he wants to marry, and life is looking good. Bea has a son, Aaron, who she adopted as a baby. Aaron has been through some tough times, but he’s getting his life in gear and on the right track. Until he’s charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Mae, the daughter of the local prosecutor. Aaron is a Black man being brought up in an all-white community --- and prejudice will rear its head here.

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Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds by Michelle Horton

February 2025

I read DEAR SISTER last fall as I prepared for an interview at the Morristown Festival of Books with its author, Michelle Horton. I always thought that if a person killed someone in self-defense, he or she would be acquitted. I was so far off the mark.

Michelle writes about her sister, Nikki, who was in an abusive relationship for nine years. When her partner went to shoot Nikki and himself, which would make their children orphans, Nikki grabbed the gun and shot him. She had hidden the abuse from her family, masking it with long sleeves and excuses for her various wounds. But she confided in friends who were there to support her.

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What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange

January 2025

Tracey Lange is known for writing about families. These working-class individuals deal with issues that people come across every day. The way Tracey handles her characters is what makes her books so special.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE McCRAYS? opens with Kyle McCray seated in a restaurant in Spokane, Washington, where he is pondering heading back home to Potsdam, New York. He has been gone for two-and-a-half years, moseying his way across the country and taking a variety of jobs. His dad has had a stroke and needs his help, which is the only reason he is considering a return to Potsdam.

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Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

January 2025

If you want a book with twists, then Alice Feeney’s BEAUTIFUL UGLY is the one for you. We open on a happy note as Grady Green has his first New York Times bestseller, and he is ready to celebrate with his wife, Abby Goldman. But Abby goes missing that night. She had been on the phone with her husband just before she disappeared.

A distraught Grady falls into a deep depression and is unable to write. Grief has overtaken him. His literary agent, Kitty, offers him something that may be his salvation. Her former client, bestselling author Charles Whittaker, left her a cabin on Amberly, a remote island off the coast of Scotland. Grady agrees to go there and write as nothing else seems to be happening for him.

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More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova

January 2025

I have been a long-time fan of Lisa Genova’s work. In fact, her previous novels --- STILL ALICE, LEFT NEGLECTED, LOVE ANTHONY, INSIDE THE O'BRIENS and EVERY NOTE PLAYED --- were Bets On selections. Reading them, I have learned about early-onset Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injury, autism, Huntington’s disease and ALS.

In MORE OR LESS MADDY, Lisa takes us inside the world of Maddy Banks, who seems to have normal issues for a college student. But when they escalate, she finds herself in a deeply depressed and dark state, barely making her way through the day. A quick visit to the university’s health facility gets her a prescription for an antidepressant, and all is well for a while.

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The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

January 2025

I have been a passionate reader of Fiona Davis’ novels --- all eight of them. So when I tell you that I think THE STOLEN QUEEN is her best one, it’s really high praise.

As long-time readers know, Fiona sets her books in iconic New York City buildings. This time it’s the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As always, there are two time frames. This one takes place in 1936 and 1978.

In Egypt, the setting for the earlier chapters, Charlotte Cross is on a dig with a number of other archaeologists. Along the way, she finds a tomb that has not been completely researched. It belongs to Hathorkare, a female pharaoh who has not been given her due in history. Charlotte finds a broad collar in gold, which hints that this woman had been regal. Fiona has us entrenched in the ruins with the team, and we feel like we are dusting off the treasures found there.

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The Note by Alafair Burke

January 2025

In THE NOTE by Alafair Burke, three friends have decamped to a stunning place in the Hamptons for a reunion visit. It all sounds idyllic, but this is a thriller, so don’t settle back in your chair and relax.

Lauren, Kelsey and May have not seen each other in a while. But it quickly becomes clear that had they not attended the same camp in the past, they probably would not be in each other’s lives. They were close at one time, but we don’t know exactly why they’re spending time together now. Is it to share memories, or something else? Each has a history that is carefully parsed to readers, as something scandalous or embarrassing has happened to them. They know some of each other’s secrets, but not all of them. Alafair does a great job of drawing us deeper and deeper into their lives.

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The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

December 2024

There are times when I wonder WHY I did not get to a book sooner. This was the case with THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon. It came out a year ago, and I just got to it last week. I loved the first-person voice of Martha Ballard, a renowned midwife who delivered babies in Maine. The novel is set in the winter of 1789 when the river has frozen --- and a man’s body is discovered there. The mystery of how he got there and who was responsible sets up the backbone of the book. What Martha is able to uncover --- and how she does it --- is what makes the story special.

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What I Ate in One Year: (and related thoughts) by Stanley Tucci

December 2024

I love it when authors who write memoirs or share their thoughts narrate their own work. So when I saw that Stanley Tucci narrated WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR, I was all in for a listen. What a fun idea to chronicle what one ate/cooked/dined out on over the course of a year. As I am writing this, I just devoured a Trader Joe’s Green Chile Macaroni and Cheese. I realize that instead I should have zeroed in on one of the recipes in the book’s pages and whipped up something that was much more of a culinary delight.

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The Grays of Truth by Sharon Virts

November 2024

THE GRAYS OF TRUTH is the third book by Sharon Virts that I have made a Bets On pick (MASQUE OF HONOR and VEIL OF DOUBT were the first two). She has a way of writing a historical mystery that plants me right in the time period, which this time is Reconstruction-era Baltimore.

Jane Gray Wharton is in a loveless marriage to Ned, a growling man who feels that life has done him wrong. He is visiting his brother Hank’s home in Baltimore on family business when he dies of mysterious causes. Jane is suspicious of what happened as she was a nurse in the Civil War. Her skills tell her that Ned was healthy, and passing away like this definitely sparks questions. Jane is not fond of Hank’s wife, Ellen, and in fact distrusts her immensely. However, Jane’s views are suspect as she has a history of mental health issues, which has led people not to believe her.

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