I don’t know much about pigeons, though I know they’ve been used as messenger birds for hundreds of years. But I’ve learned quite a bit about pigeons – and their use in World War II – since reading Stephanie Graves’ mystery series featuring Olive Bright.
Olive lives in the fictional village of Pipley, situated close to the real-life Brickendonbury Manor, used as a training ground for British intelligence services (SOE) during the war. When her father’s pigeons are rejected by the British pigeon service, she’s deeply disappointed – until SOE comes calling. Olive and her birds begin working with SOE (in the form of prickly Captain Jameson Aldridge), while she pretends to fall in love with the captain as a cover story. Soon, a village murder is added to the mix, and Olive’s family takes in a young evacuee, leaving Olive with her hands full: sleuthing, pigeon training and helping care for the household keep her quite busy.
It’s no secret I love a WWII mystery, and this series has all the right ingredients: cozy little village (with a disturbingly high murder rate); plucky, kind brunette heroine determined to make her mark and solve a few cases along the way; a will-they-won’t-they love story (with a bit of intelligence intrigue); and an engaging cast of secondary characters. In this series, that cast includes Olive’s blustering father and sharp-eyed, kind stepmother; her brother Lewis and best friend George, both away fighting; Jonathan, the evacuee who becomes a companion to Olive; Henrietta Gibbons, local Girl Guide; and lots of villagers, including Olive’s newly married chum, Margaret.
As the series continues, we learn more about both the villagers and Olive’s war work, not to mention her ingenuity for getting herself out of frequent scrapes. I read the third book earlier this spring, and am eagerly awaiting more of Olive’s adventures – and hoping she and the captain can finally admit they’re in love for real.
Have you read this series (with its Home Fires vibes)? I’d love to know what you think.
We’re a week into May, and I’ve been racing through good books. Here’s what I have been reading:
Begin Again, Emma Lord Andie Rose is an A+ planner – but when she transfers to the competitive state school where her parents met, her plans to ace her college experience fall apart. Instead, she finds friendships with her roommate and her stats tutor; shifts at the off-campus bagel place; a slot on the school’s pirate radio station, founded by her mom; and a will-they-won’t-they connection with her RA, Milo. I love Lord’s sweet, witty YA novels and this one was so much fun.
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, Jennifer Ryan I flew through this charming WWII novel about a group of women in Kent banding together to mend and lend wedding dresses to each other amid fabric rationing. Fashion designer Cressida, shy vicar’s daughter Grace, aristocratic Violet and their friends were wonderful characters. Serious Home Fires feel-good vibes.
Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers, Anna James Tilly Pages loves spending time in her grandparents’ London bookshop. When Anne Shirley and Alice (of Wonderland) turn up in the shop, and Tilly discovers she can wander into books, her grandparents – and a secret sect of librarians – have a lot of explaining to do. A cute, bookish middle-grade story; I wanted to love it more than I did, but it was fun. Found at All She Wrote Books.
Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer, Julia Cameron I’ve loved Cameron’s work since I received The Sound of Paper as a college graduation gift. This is a six-week practical guide to getting in a writing rhythm, using her classic tools (Morning Pages, walks, Artist Dates). Helpful and engaging, though not much new info if you’re already a Cameron reader.
Love from A to Z, S. K. Ali Zayneb has HAD it with her racist teacher targeting Muslims – but when she speaks out, she gets suspended. She heads to Doha to visit an aunt, where she meets Adam – Chinese-Canadian, also Muslim and recently diagnosed with MS. This lovely YA novel alternates between their perspectives, and deals with both difficult topics and the sweet headiness of first love. Thoughtful and fun. Found at the Bryn Mawr Bookstore in Cambridge.
Stateless, Elizabeth Wein England, 1937: Stella North is determined to prove herself in an international race against 11 other young pilots from across Europe, to promote peace. But one contestant disappears, and Stella suspects sabotage. She works with a few other pilots to figure out who was responsible, and why. I love Wein’s fast-paced historical YA novels; this one has great flight details, fascinating characters, and a growing sense of unease as Europe heads toward war.
My Contrary Mary, Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand & Jodi Meadows This sequel-of-sorts to My Lady Jane (which I loved) picks up with Mary, Queen of Scots, at the French court. She’s supposed to marry Prince Francis, but she’s ambivalent – meanwhile, Francis’ mother and Mary’s uncles are both scheming to gain power, and Mary’s mother is in faraway Scotland. With the help of her ladies-in-waiting (all of whom, like Mary, can change into animals) and Nostradamus’ daughter Ari, Mary learns to navigate both politics and love. I raced through this one on a flight; so much fun.
Off the Map, Trish Doller Carla Black has always preferred traveling to putting down roots; she spent summers road-tripping with her father, Biggie, after her mom left. But when she goes to Ireland for her best friend’s wedding, she meets a man (the groom’s brother) who might make her want to stay. I like Doller’s smart modern-day romances; this one was pretty steamy for me. But I liked Carla and the honest way she was forced to deal with her issues.
March is flying by – we’ve finally had a few sunny days, plus lots of great books. Here’s what I have been reading:
Playing It Safe, Ashley Weaver I love Weaver’s smart mysteries (see above), and this third Electra McDonnell adventure was well done. Ellie heads to Sunderland on an assignment for the enigmatic Major Ramsey; once there, she gets to know a few locals, witnesses at least one death, and does a bit of good old-fashioned safecracking. To review for Shelf Awareness (out May 9).
Kiki’s Delivery Service, Eiko Kadono When she turns 13, young witch Kiki must find a place to live on her own for a year. With her black cat, Jiji, Kiki flies to the mid-size city of Koriko, where she makes a few friends and opens the titular delivery service. I loved this gentle, fun middle-grade story, though I haven’t seen the classic anime. (Unrelated, but still fun: my nephews call me Kiki.)
An Unexpected Peril, Deanna Raybourn I’ve been loving the Veronica Speedwell series, and this sixth one – involving a lady mountain climber who died under mysterious circumstances – was so much fun. Veronica ends up impersonating a princess while trying to solve a murder, and wrestling with her own complicated feelings about Britain’s royalty. Highly entertaining.
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, Elle Cosimano After several run-ins with the Russian mob, single mom Finlay Donovan just wants to finish her next novel and figure out her feelings for cop Nick Anthony. But when Finlay and her nanny/partner in crime, Veronica, attend a citizens’ police academy, things get complicated real fast. I love this zany, fast-paced mystery series – it is, as a friend said recently, pure chaos but so much fun.
Dear Mrs. Bird, A.J. Pearce As the Blitz pounds London, aspiring journalist Emmeline Lake lands a job typing letters for a women’s magazine. Mrs. Bird, the titular advice columnist, won’t answer anything Unpleasant or Racy, so Emmy takes matters into her own hands. I read this book in 2018 and recently found it at a library sale for $2 (!). I loved it just as much this time around – warm, witty and entertaining. I want to be friends with Emmy, and I especially enjoyed her colleagues at the magazine and the fire station where she volunteers.
The Late Mrs. Willoughby, Claudia Gray Juliet Tilney is thrilled to be invited to visit Colonel and Mrs. Brandon in Devonshire. Jonathan Darcy is less thrilled to be visiting Mr. Willoughby, but they are both pleased to be in each other’s company again. When Willoughby’s wife is poisoned – quite dramatically – at a dinner, Jonathan and Juliet join forces to find the killer. A delightful follow-up to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, featuring lots of Austen characters (notably the whole Dashwood/Ferrars clan), and a fun mystery. To review for Shelf Awareness (out May 16).
January has been a long year, as someone commented on social media recently. The latest batch of books, fortunately, has been excellent. Here’s what I have been reading:
Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them, Tove Danovich Danovich dreamed of owning chickens during her years in Brooklyn – but when she moved to Oregon and ordered three chicks, she had no idea how they’d change her life. A warm, engaging, often hilarious deep dive into chicken-keeping, the poultry industry, chicken care and the ways these little birds steal their owners’ hearts. Informative and fun. To review for Shelf Awareness (out March 28).
Island of Spies, Sheila Turnage Hatteras Island, 1942: As World War II heats up, Sarah Stickley “Stick” Lawson and her two best friends, Rain and Neb, hunt for mysteries to solve on the island. They’re soon caught up in some real espionage, possibly involving the cranky postmistress, two enigmatic visitors, a couple of baseball players and Stick’s older sister. I loved this middle-grade novel about family and secrets and standing up for what’s right; I also adore Turnage’s Three Times Lucky and its sequels.
The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything, Kara Gnodde Siblings Mimi and Art have always been close – especially since their parents’ tragic death. But in her thirties, Mimi gets restless and wants to find love. Art – a mathematical genius – agrees to help her if he can use an algorithm. When Mimi falls for Frank, another mathematician, Art is distressed for a few reasons. A thoughtful exploration of sibling dynamics; I loved Mimi’s friend Rey, and Frank himself. (Heads up for a few seriously heartbreaking death and hospital scenes.) To review for Shelf Awareness (out February 28).
Other Birds, Sarah Addison Allen When 19-year-old Zoey moves into the condo she inherited from her mother on tiny, beautiful Mallow Island, she’s hoping to uncover some family secrets – but other secrets start to emerge almost immediately. From the resident turquoise birds to the suspicious death of one of her neighbors, plus a local reclusive author, Mallow Island is teeming with mystery. I love Addison Allen’s warm, enchanting Southern fiction; this one has some engaging characters, but also lots of deep sadness around abuse and addiction.
Operation Sisterhood, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich Bo and her mum have always been a team, and Bo likes it that way. But when Mum announces she’s getting married, they move from the Bronx to Harlem and in with Bo’s new stepdad, his daughter, another family who shares their house, and a menagerie of pets. Bo – an introvert, baker and happy only child – likes her new family, but struggles to adjust. A warm, funny middle-grade novel (like the Vanderbeekers turned up to 11) with lashings of Black girl magic.
The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese Verghese’s second novel traces the epic story of a family in southern India afflicted by a mysterious condition: one person in every generation dies by drowning. Spanning seven decades, the story begins with a child bride coming to Parambil, the family estate, and continues through several generations of love, loss, marriage, death, medical school and social change. Verghese is a medical doctor and it shows; the medical detail is painstaking (and occasionally gruesome). I read his memoir My Own Country in college and was blown away; he’s a powerful writer. To review for Shelf Awareness (out May 2).
People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry Poppy and Alex – polar opposites – have been best friends since college, taking an annual summer trip together. Until two years ago when they ruined everything. Poppy, floundering at work, is determined to salvage their friendship with one last trip to Alex’s brother’s wedding in Palm Springs. A funny story of travel disasters and friendship that might tip over into love; Poppy is wacky and oblivious, but eventually gains a little self-awareness. Fun for the winter doldrums.
It’s almost Thanksgiving, and we are deep in year-end giving projects at work, and my beloved Darwin’s closed its original location yesterday. It’s been a lot, to say the least. Meanwhile, here’s what I have been reading:
Absolutely Truly, Heather Vogel Frederick Truly Lovejoy is not thrilled about moving to tiny Pumpkin Falls, N.H., after her pilot dad loses an arm in Afghanistan. But she grows to love helping at her family’s bookstore, and even finds new friends and a mystery to solve. I love Frederick’s cheery middle-grade novels and I adore Truly – stubborn, brave, kind and obsessed with owls. A fun reread.
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre, Natasha Lester Orphaned at 13, Alix St. Pierre has spent her life trying to prove herself, and she spent World War II doing excellent work in intelligence. But she’s haunted by one failed mission. As she’s working in PR for Christian Dior in 1947, that mission and its characters resurface. A brilliant, propulsive, beautiful and heartbreaking novel about a woman faced with so many impossible choices. I loved it. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Jan. 10, 2023).
The Bullet That Missed, Richard Osman Osman’s septuagenarian sleuths are back – this time tangled up with a couple of gangsters as they try to solve the cold case of a TV anchor who disappeared years ago. Witty, wry and so British – I love this series.
Windfall: The Prairie Woman Who Lost Her Way and the Great-Granddaughter Who Found Her,Erika Bolstad Bolstad’s memoir takes us on her quest to learn more about her great-grandmother, Anna, a North Dakota homesteader who eventually was committed to an asylum. Curious about Anna’s story (and the possibility of money from mineral rights on Anna’s land), Bolstad takes multiple trips to the Dakotas, researching land laws, oilfield politics past and present and the treatment of women in Anna’s time. Thoughtful and thought-provoking; also familiar since I am from the oilfields of West Texas. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Jan. 17, 2023).
Yours Truly, Heather Vogel Frederick Truly Lovejoy is thrilled to have her cousin visiting for Spring Break. But when someone starts cutting the sap lines on her friends’ farm, it leads to a full-blown town feud, and Truly and her friends are on the case. They also find an old diary with some intriguing secrets. I loved most of this story (also a reread), except for Truly’s clashing with her younger sister – it felt realistic, but soured things a bit.
We are almost two weeks post-Gala, and I think I’m almost recovered! And the leaves, as always, are stunning. Here’s what I have been reading:
The Maid, Nita Prose Molly Gray loves her job as a hotel maid, though she’s struggling since her gran died. When a wealthy, difficult customer ends up dead, Molly falls under suspicion and tries to solve the mystery, alongside some friends. I loved this fun mystery with a neurodivergent narrator and some wonderful characters.
The Lipstick Bureau, Michelle Gable 1989: Nikola “Niki” Novotna attends a dinner in appreciation of the women who worked in the OSS during World War II. 1944: Niki and several colleagues in Morale Operations are assigned to Rome, where they produce propaganda to lower German morale and try (sort of) to stay out of trouble. A fascinating slice of WWII fiction with a magnetic main character. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Jan. 3, 2023).
Key Player, Kelly Yang When the women’s World Cup comes to Anaheim, Mia Tang wants to interview the players – maybe then her PE teacher will raise her grade. But finding the teams is harder than it looks, and she’s got other troubles, at school and at her parents’ motel. A great installment in this spunky middle-grade series about a Chinese-American girl finding her way.
Requiem for the Massacre: A Black History on the Conflict, Hope, and Fallout of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, R.J. Young In 1921, white Tulsans burned the Black business district of Greenwood to the ground, killing dozens of Black Tulsans and wounding the community beyond repair. Young, a longtime Tulsan, combines historical accounts of the massacre with commentary on events surrounding its centennial and the ways in which Tulsa has (and has not) reckoned with the massacre’s legacy. Powerful, harrowing, necessary. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Nov. 1).
Ways to Share Joy, Renee Watson This third installment in the Ryan Hart series finds Ryan caught in the middle between her two best friends, between her older and younger siblings, and between how things are and how they used to be. (I can relate.) A sweet, relatable story with a spunky, resourceful heroine.
Specter Inspectors, Bowen McCurdy and Kaitlyn Musto My guy bought me this slightly spooky comic about a group of ghost hunters who find a bit more than they bargained for. I do not do well with creepy, and this one was on the edge for me – but I liked the friendships, relationships and Scooby-Doo vibes.
September is flying by so far – amid work and daily adventures, here’s what I have been reading:
The Lost Summers of Newport, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White I enjoy Team W’s richly detailed historical novels (and I’ve devoured nearly all of Williams’ books). This one follows the intertwined stories of three women connected to the same Newport, R.I., mansion during different eras: architectural preservationist Andie, music teacher Ellen, and Italian-American socialite Lucia. Rife with family secrets and dripping with diamonds – great escapist reading.
TheHouse of Eve, Sadeqa Johnson Ruby Pearsall is on track to be her family’s first college student – but a forbidden love may derail her plans to escape her rough neighborhood. Meanwhile, Eleanor Quarles, a brilliant young woman from small-town Ohio, struggles to find her place at Howard University and with her rich boyfriend’s family. Their lives collide in an unexpected way. A powerful, sometimes wrenching novel about the struggles of Black women in the mid-1950s. So much here around shame and womanhood and making choices. To review for Shelf Awareness (out March 2023).
Love, Lies & Spies, Cindy Anstey Miss Juliana Telford is more interested in publishing her research on ladybugs than diving into the London Season. Mr. Spencer Northam is far more preoccupied with espionage than with matrimony. But all this might change when they encounter one another by chance. A witty, hilarious, romantic tribute to Jane Austen and a really fun love story. Recommended by Anne.
Blood from a Stone: A Memoir of How Wine Brought Me Back from the Dead, Adam McHugh After years as a hospice chaplain, McHugh found himself burned out, and needing not just an escape but a whole life change. His love of wine led him – several times – to California’s Santa Ynez Valley, where he began a career working in wine. An honest, sometimes snarky, well-researched, thoughtful memoir about wine and transformation. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Oct. 11).
Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man, Emily J. Edwards Our titular heroine loves her job as secretary/girl Friday to NYC private eye Tommy Fortuna. But when she finds an unconscious man in the office and Tommy disappears – right after taking on a case for a wealthy client – Viv must marshal all her wits to solve the case and stay alive. A fun romp with an engaging heroine, though the dialogue read almost like a send-up of 1950s phrases. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Nov. 8).
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration, Sara Dykman I picked up this memoir last fall at the Harvard Book Store and have been reading it sloooowly. Dykman takes a months-long solo journey starting and ending in Mexico at the monarchs’ overwintering grounds, following their trail and giving presentations about the importance of these beautiful creatures. She’s a lovely writer, though the trip logistics dragged sometimes (as I’m sure they did in real life!). Fun bonus: she went through my dad’s tiny hometown in southwestern MO.
What Comes from Spirit, Richard Wagamese I picked up this collection at the wonderful Savoy Bookshop in Westerly, R.I., in June. Wagamese was an Indigenous Canadian writer who wrote extensively about his journey away from and back to his Native identity, as well as noticing the natural world, building community and paying attention. Short, lovely meditations – exactly my kind of thing for slow morning reading.
The Star That Always Stays, Anna Rose Johnson When Norvia’s parents divorce, she and her siblings move from rural Beaver Island to a small Michigan city with their mother. Norvia must navigate a new school, a tricky blended family and her own shyness and anxiety, while striving to be a heroine. A sweet middle-grade story (though the middle dragged a bit); I loved Norvia’s family, especially her spunky younger sister, Dicta. Reminded me of Emily of Deep Valley.
Saving Main Street: Small Business in the Time of COVID-19, Gary Rivlin Americans idolize small business – though we give a lot of our money to the colossal chains. It’s common knowledge now that small shops were hit hard by COVID-19. Veteran reporter Rivlin follows several business owners, including a restaurateur, a pharmacist, a Latina hairstylist and three Black brothers making chocolate, through the first 18 months or so of the pandemic. Full of fascinating anecdotes and a thorough explanation of the government’s confusing (but ultimately sort-of-effective) struggle to help small businesses. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Oct. 18).
I love a good spy story – even better if it involves a canny female protagonist racing against the clock and a formidable enemy. So I jumped at the chance to review Ava Glass’ debut thriller, Alias Emma, which introduces intelligence officer Emma Makepeace. This interview originally ran in Shelf Awareness.
Tell us about the inspiration for Alias Emma.
It’s fair to say Alias Emma was inspired by real life. Britain has always been a hotbed of espionage. Perched at the edge of Europe but a strong ally of the U.S., it’s a magnet for spies from around the world. People are murdered here with poison-tipped umbrellas, radiation in tea cups, nerve agents on door knobs–these are the headlines I’m reading. How could I not want to write about this? It’s crying out to be explored.
Besides the headlines, how did you originally become interested in spies and espionage?
Before I started writing books, I worked for the British government in the department that’s sort of the equivalent of the U.S. Homeland Security agency. My job brought me into glancing contact with spies, and that gave me just the merest glimpse of their world. Before then I’d been a journalist and an editor, so I knew nothing at all about espionage or intelligence work. I was a complete innocent in that way. During that time, I met a young female intelligence officer. She was in her 20s and so smart and fearless; she seemed decades older than her age, and incredibly capable. Alias Emma is my opportunity to imagine what her life might be like.
Modern-day intelligence work often relies on technology: mobile phones, tracking devices, surveillance systems. Tell us how you explore those technologies–either using them or eliminating them–as part of this story.
This is always somewhat tricky. In Alias Emma, the job Emma’s assigned is extracting Michael, the son of a Russian spy who has defected to the U.K. The Russians want their asset back, so she and her husband are taken into protective custody [by British officials], but their adult son refuses to go with them. If Emma can’t get him to safety, he’ll be killed. He doesn’t understand the danger he’s in. During this rescue, Emma is ordered to use no technology that can be tracked. So, she can use no phones, bank cards, computers or tablets. At the same time, London’s extensive CCTV system has been hacked by the Russians who are using the cameras to hunt for Emma and Michael. Technology is everywhere (including the CCTV cameras), but Emma can’t access any of it.
Britain and Russia are old enemies (the Great Game and the Cold War both come to mind), but this story is set in the 21st century and feels very fresh. Why a British/Russian conflict?
I believe the Great Game never ended. We all thought it stopped when the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union collapsed, but we were wrong. It went on. That became quite clear when a former Russian FSB agent named Alexander Litvenenko was murdered by his ex-colleagues with polonium placed in a teapot in an expensive London hotel in 2006. That was followed by a spate of mysterious deaths of Russian exiles and former spies and government officials in the U.K. until, finally, a Russian exile named Sergei Skripal and his daughter were attacked with nerve gas in a leafy town (near where I live) in 2018. That was when it occurred to me that this secret war might make an interesting subject for a series of novels.
Much of this story is about identity. There are false identities, conflicting identities, Michael’s reluctance to leave the life he’s built for himself behind. Can you speak to that?
To an extent. In my time, I’ve changed careers, towns, even nations. Each move always feels like an opportunity to reinvent yourself. And yet, in my experience, no matter how far you travel, you can’t escape yourself. The past tags along. No matter how hard you try to leave it behind, it always packs itself in your luggage. And this is one lesson that Emma Makepeace is learning in Alias Emma. She can change her appearance, her name, even her eye color–but she will always be shaped by her past.
Will we see Emma in future adventures? Can you give us a teaser?
I’m actually writing the last chapters of book two now! The second book takes Emma out of London and into an undercover operation on an oligarch’s yacht in the Mediterranean. An MI6 analyst has been murdered in a bizarre way that looks like a hallmark of the Russian spy agency GRU. The Agency believes the analyst got too close to revealing a conspiracy by Russian businessmen in London to sell chemical weapons to rogue nations. But the conspiracy may run much deeper than Emma thinks. And it will take her to very dangerous places.
August has, so far, been hot and full and lovely. Between (and during) weekend adventures and heat waves, here’s what I have been reading:
Horse, Geraldine Brooks I love Brooks’ thoughtful fiction that takes readers to unexpected places – all her novels are so different. This one deals with a discarded painting, a horse skeleton, a Civil War-era Black horse trainer and an NYC art dealer, among other things. I especially loved the sections about Jarret, the trainer. Rich and thought-provoking, like all her books.
Flying Solo, Linda Holmes After calling off her wedding, Laurie Sassalyn returns to small-town Maine to clear out her elderly aunt’s house. She finds a carved wooden duck buried in a blanket chest, and tries to figure out how it got there. This is a sweet story with a bit of a mystery, but it’s mostly Laurie coming to terms with what she wants from her life. I loved the side characters like Laurie’s best friend June and actor brother Ryan, and I appreciated the musings on how womanhood and relationships don’t have to look the same for everyone.
By Any Other Name, Lauren Kate Editor Lanie Bloom prides herself on handling crises at work, and snagging the perfect guy who fits her (long) list of criteria for a mate. But when Lanie gets (provisionally) promoted and finally meets her reclusive top-tier author, everything she thought she knew about life and love is thrown into question. I loved this sweet, witty publishing rom-com – shades of Nora Ephron, for sure – especially the subplot involving an elderly couple picnicking in Central Park. (Reminded me of this.)
Blurb Your Enthusiasm: An A-Z of Literary Persuasion, Louise Willder Blurbs are “the outside story” of a book – and there’s more to them than most people think. Veteran copywriter Willder takes readers through the (literal) A-Z of blurbs, touching on publishing history, literary snobbery, racism, gender politics, puns (so many puns!) and other entertaining absurdities. Smart, nerdy and so much bookish fun. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Oct. 11).
The Key to Deceit, Ashley Weaver London, 1940: Ellie McDonnell, locksmith and sometime thief, has (mostly) gone straight since getting caught by British intelligence. When Major Ramsey comes asking for her help again (albeit reluctantly), Ellie gets swept up in a mystery involving a young drowned woman, espionage, and more. I love Weaver’s elegant Amory Ames series and enjoyed Ellie’s first adventure; this one was even better.
Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage, Nathalia Holt The CIA as we know it is relatively new – it was founded after WWII, and a small cadre of sharp, accomplished women was instrumental in its founding and early years. Holt peels back the curtain on five “wise gals” who shaped the agency, fought for equity and did critical work. Insightful, compelling and so well researched – a brilliant slice of mostly unknown history. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Sept. 13).
The Cannonball Tree Mystery, Ovidia Yu As the WWII Japanese occupation of Singapore drags on, Chen Su Lin is translating propaganda articles, cooking for Japanese officials and trying to stay alive. When a relative of hers – a known blackmailer – ends up dead, Su Lin gets drawn into the case, especially when she realizes it might involve sensitive photos and info relating to the war. This mystery was still fairly grim, but a bit more hopeful as Su Lin reconnects with a few friends and the tide of the war begins (slowly) to turn.
Summer Solstice: An Essay, Nina MacLaughlin I loved MacLaughlin’s thoughtful, lyrical memoir, Hammer Head, and picked up this slim essay at the Booksmith. She writes about summer’s fullness, its nostalgia, its mythical status as a season, its beauty and lushness and even its end. Lovely.
Vinyl Resting Place, Olivia Blacke Juniper “Juni” Jessup has just moved back to her hometown to open Sip & Spin, a record shop she co-owns with her sisters. But when a local young woman is found dead after the opening-night party – and their uncle, suspiciously, skips town – Juni and her sisters investigate. A fun cozy mystery; first in a new series. I liked Juni and the Texas setting, though the other characters were a little thin. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Dec. 27).
June is flying by, and I’m flying through stacks of review and library books. Here’s what I have been reading:
Empathy Economics: Janet Yellen’s Remarkable Rise to Power and Her Drive to Forge Prosperity for All, Owen Ullmann Janet Yellen is a fascinating figure: not only is she the first woman to hold several key US financial positions, including Treasury secretary, but her approach to economics consistently aims to benefit ordinary citizens. Ullmann has written a thorough, well-researched biography of Yellen’s life and career, which is also a crash course in the U.S. financial system. Dense at times, but mostly very clear, and important. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Sept. 27).
Now What? How to Move Forward When We’re Divided (About Basically Everything), Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers I love the ladies of Pantsuit Politics and their wise, thoughtful approach to politics and other difficult conversations. This, their second book, explores how to talk about tough stuff with our families, friends and communities. Practical and thought-provoking, with examples from their own lives; I loved it.
The Betel Nut Tree Mystery, Ovidia Yu Just after Britain’s king abdicates to marry Wallis Simpson, a wealthy British man (engaged to an American widow) is murdered in Singapore. Chen Su Lin, assistant to Chief Inspector Le Froy, investigates. A fun second adventure with an engaging protagonist, and a fascinating slice of colonial life.
The Last Karankawas, Kimberly Garza Garza’s stunning debut novel takes us into the Filipino- and Mexican-American communities in Galveston and nearby parts of south Texas. I loved her narrative voice, and the way her characters’ lives are intertwined. As Hurricane Ike heads for the Gulf Coast, residents must make the choice to evacuate or to stay and hunker down. This is a part of Texas I don’t know as well; it is recognizable but also new. Gorgeous. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Aug. 9).
Alias Emma, Ava Glass Emma Makepeace (not her real name, of course) always wanted to be a spy: her father died honorably attempting to help bring democracy to Russia. Years later, Emma receives her first major assignment: she must ferry the son of Russian dissidents across London, before sunrise, while staying well away from the city’s surveillance system. A fun, twisty modern-day British spy thriller; first in a new series. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Aug. 2). With Love from Wish & Co., Minnie Darke Marnie Fairchild has spent her adult life working hard to build up her gift-wrapping and -buying business – and wishing she could move into her grandfather’s old shop. When she mixes up the gifts intended for a wealthy client’s wife and his mistress, trouble ensues – and to top it off, Marnie finds herself falling for the client’s son. A warmhearted story with some interesting ethical questions at its center and engaging characters. I particularly liked Suzanne, the client’s wife, and Saski, Marnie’s big-hearted accountant and friend. To review for Shelf Awareness (out Aug. 16).
cakes, tea and dreams 