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Bookreporter.com Bets On...

With thousands of books published each year and much attention paid to the works of bestselling and well-known authors, it is inevitable that some titles worthy of praise and discussion may not get the attention we think they deserve. Thus throughout the year, we will continue this feature that we started in 2009, to spotlight books that immediately struck a chord with us and made us say “just read this.” We will alert our readers about these titles as soon as they’re released so you can discover them for yourselves and recommend them to your family and friends.

Below are all of our selections thus far. For future "Bets On" titles that we will announce shortly after their release dates, please visit this page.

Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger

September 2024

While I have not read all 20 titles in the Cork O’Connor series, I have thoroughly enjoyed those that I have read. William Kent Krueger has a knack for delivering a new plot while also bringing in enough backstory that a newcomer does not feel lost. Just as importantly, he does not overwrite the backstory for longtime readers.

SPIRIT CROSSING, the latest installment, takes on an issue that I have so many thoughts on --- the marginalization of Native American women, especially when it comes to kidnapping, sex trafficking and murder. Here, the daughter of a prominent Minnesota politician has gone missing, and there is an active manhunt underway to find her. At the same time, Native American women have been disappearing, but the same tactics are not undertaken to find them.

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Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman

August 2024

T.J. Newman has written three thrillers that I would not recommend you bring on a plane: FALLING, DROWNING and her latest, WORST CASE SCENARIO. In the first two books, the action happened on the plane or part of the plane (I am not giving anything away here). In her latest effort, we truly learn the worst case scenario when a commercial airliner crashes into a nuclear power plant. For those of us who think that these facilities are safer after 9/11, T.J. sends out a wake-up call that they are not. And she stresses that even if the nuclear reactor is offline, there is still a lot to worry about. Add that to things I never pondered!

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What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

August 2024

I am not sure how she does it, but all of Shari Lapena’s books are absolute page-turners. This time I tried to slow myself down to see if I could analyze her method, but once again her propulsive storytelling did not allow this.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? opens in Fairhill, Vermont, where everything is beautiful and bucolic. One morning, a local farmer finds in his field the body of a young woman that is being feasted upon by vultures. For the record, the description of the vultures was enough to get the hair on my arms standing up. Soon the victim is identified as Diana Brewer, a local high school senior, and the chatter starts up about how she got there and who wanted her killed.

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Boss Lady by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans

August 2024

A few years ago, I met Alli Frank and Asha Youmans at a library event, and I immediately became a fan of their work. BOSS LADY, their fourth book, does not disappoint. Their stories are true to life but also laced with lots of humor.

Antonia "Toni" Arroyo is Black and Puerto Rican. She is working at the San Francisco Airport where she assists passengers getting to and from their gates. Among her regulars is Sylvia Eisenberg, a widow who travels between San Francisco and Arizona. Sylvia enjoys hearing all about Toni’s plans --- and is continually cheering her on. Toni appreciates the older woman’s zest for life, as well as the love she has for her family.

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The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff

August 2024

I read Amy Neff’s debut novel, THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST, about six months ago, and I have been waiting to share it with you. It’s a beautiful story about a 60-year marriage between two people who feel that they cannot live without each other. But it is so much more than that. It’s about falling in love, the ups and downs of a long marriage, and what more mature love feels like, as well as those early heady days.

Evelyn and Joseph grew up side by side in a beach town in Connecticut. There were tender moments at the beginning of their attraction to each other --- truly the making of young love. Then they find themselves married and sharing the ups and downs of everyday life as they raise a family.

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Jackie by Dawn Tripp

August 2024

Yes, there have been many books written about Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, but I really appreciate the fresh way that Dawn Tripp wrote her novel, JACKIE. Dawn explores Jackie’s love of literature and how she applied her intellect and desire to learn throughout her entire life. She looks at Jackie and Jack as intellectuals who challenged each other, and what she brought to his world as well as to the country. While Jackie was known as a style and fashion icon, Dawn pulls back her many layers, ensuring that her life is viewed more broadly. There are nuggets tucked between the pages that I am sure will be news to you, as they were to me.

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The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

July 2024

I enjoyed Liz Moore's previous novel, LONG BRIGHT RIVER, so I was eager to read THE GOD OF THE WOODS. She does not disappoint. I never attended summer camp, but friends of mine have loved this experience. And in these pages, I felt like I was there.

Here we have an interesting setup. It's 1975. Next to Camp Emerson is a property in the Adirondacks owned by the wealthy Van Laars, which has been in the family for generations. They own the land where the camp is located, and it is now managed by the daughter of the camp's founder.

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The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan

July 2024

I enjoy J. Courtney Sullivan's writing, so I was looking forward to reading THE CLIFFS. Here, she returns to Maine in a book that is full of character, history and stories woven together.

First, there is an abandoned house, one that Jane Flanagan, a teen with a less-than-happy home life, explores in her free time. Her imagination is in gear about who may have lived there and what their story was. Things seem hurriedly abandoned as if a family fled. There are clothes in closets and dishes in cabinets. But life moves on. And so does Jane.

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The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

July 2024

A few years ago, I read and loved Marjan Kamali’s THE STATIONERY SHOP, which was so beautifully done. I am happy to share that her latest book, THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN, is just as special. While readers will see it as a touching story of a friendship, it is much more as Marjan gives us an inside view of the political situation that erupts again and again in Tehran, Iran.

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Bad Tourists by Caro Carver

July 2024

Caro Carver’s BAD TOURISTS sets up as one kind of book but quickly flips to another. Then comes even more twists. Caro was inspired to write this thriller as she was on vacation in the Maldives. She envisioned a hotel, like Sapphire Island, a plush location where guests would have everything taken care of for them. This spectacular setting is a star and a character since the setup of these accommodations lends itself to the action. And the beautiful waters around them hide danger. There also is a page where Caro refers to a manta ray and shares, “How difficult can it be to tell innocent and villain apart?” That is the central theme of the novel, and a tone is set.

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