Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

June 2023

I still remember where I was in 2005 when I read SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN. Having read all of Lisa See’s historical novels, as well as her memoir, ON GOLD MOUNTAIN, I am happy to report that LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN is her best book to date. The story is completely absorbing from page one. Honestly, if you told me that I would have interest in a woman who was practicing medicine in the 15th century, I would doubt you. But Lisa vividly weaves a story of the esteemed families of the time --- and those who surround them --- sharing details that had me feeling like I was inside the gates of these palatial homes.

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The House of Lincoln by Nancy Horan

June 2023

THE HOUSE OF LINCOLN is Nancy Horan’s first book since 2014. Having grown up in Springfield, Illinois, Nancy was quite familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s influence on the country, especially on that part of the state. The more she read and explored, the more she wanted to bring to life not just the man, but also the time in which he lived --- a time that was fraught with racial divide.

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Andre Dubus III, author of Such Kindness

Tom Lowe designed and built his family’s dream home, working extra hours to pay off the adjustable-rate mortgage he took on the property, convinced he is making every sacrifice for the happiness of his wife and son. Until, shingling a roof in too-bright sunlight, he falls. In constant pain, addicted to painkillers at the cost of his relationships with his wife and son, Tom slowly comes to realize that he can never work again. If he is not a working man, who is he? He is not, he believes, the kind of person who lives in subsidized housing, though that is where he has ended up. He is not the kind of person who hatches a scheme to commit convenience-check fraud, together with neighbors he considers lowlifes, until he finds himself stealing his banker’s trash. Who is Tom Lowe, and who will he become?

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Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Good Night, Irene

In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle. After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Through her friendship with Dorothy and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope is for all three of them to survive the war intact.

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S. A. Cosby, author of All the Sinners Bleed

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. Then a year to the day after Titus’ election, a schoolteacher is killed by a former student, and the student is fatally shot by Titus’ deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight. With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history.

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Fiona Davis, author of The Spectacular

New York City, 1956: When 19-year-old Marion Brooks comes across an opportunity to audition for the Radio City Rockettes, she jumps at the chance to exchange her predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer. Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber." With the public in an uproar, the police turn to Peter Griggs, a young doctor who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling. As both Marion and Peter find themselves unexpectedly pulled into the police search for the bomber, Marion realizes that if she hopes to catch the culprit, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. In doing so, she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.

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