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Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America by Jeff Hobbs

March 2025

Jeff Hobbs has been on my radar since I first interviewed him 11 years ago about THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE, a book that I have thought about again and again. So when I saw SEEKING SHELTER, I knew I wanted to read it. For 2025, I have been looking for one book each month about a social issue to read and discuss.

With the way Jeff tells a story, I get invested in the characters and what happens in their lives. Homelessness in America, especially in large cities like Los Angeles, is a huge issue. Home instability abounds, and many live one paycheck away from losing their home. In SEEKING SHELTER, readers get to know Evelyn, a mother of five (soon to be six) who has moved to LA to chase a dream of a better education for her children. It’s 2018 when we meet her. Shortly afterwards, she leaves her abusive husband and is working full time as a waitress. But she still cannot afford housing of her own or navigate government assistance.

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The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

February 2025

A few years ago, Marie Benedict wrote THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE. It examined the 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie, which became huge news.

In THE QUEENS OF CRIME, which is set in 1930, Marie brings together Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy, all of whom are brilliant female writers in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The book is told from Dorothy’s point of view. These women strive to have the respect of the male writers in the genre, and all are members of the legendary Detection Club.

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The Oligarch's Daughter by Joseph Finder

February 2025

THE OLIGARCH’S DAUGHTER by Joseph Finder is the kind of thriller that has you racing to read the pages.

The book opens with a young man working on a sailboat. Suddenly he realizes that the carefully devised cover that he has built for himself over the past years has been blown --- and he has been found by one of the Russians from whom he has been running. He quickly grabs his go bag with cash and survival gear, including a burner phone, and heads into the woods. He is armed with his wits and the skills he honed as a child with his father, who loved living off the grid. Readers head on the run with him as the henchmen who have been called out to catch him are close on his tail.

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Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

February 2025

I was a huge fan of Charmaine Wilkerson’s first novel, BLACK CAKE. So when I heard that she had a new book coming out, I was looking forward to reading it. I am happy to share that GOOD DIRT is another powerful work of fiction that spans generations. Charmaine has a beautiful way of telling a family story, filling it with emotion and history.

Ebby Freeman is at the heart of the book. As a young girl, she witnessed her brother being killed in a home invasion, but she holds back from revealing everything she saw that day. For years, she is looked upon as “the poor Freeman girl,” and what happened to her is whispered about. Ebby already stands out as the stunningly beautiful Black woman in her affluent, all-white neighborhood. All this history makes the pain of being left at the altar on the day of her wedding at her family home that much sadder. She stumbles through life for a while before jetting off to France to get away from it all. But even there Ebby’s past follows her.

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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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