As a fan of “later-in-life” protagonists, I’m always game to pick up a book featuring an aged detective/spy/criminal. I’m not alone in this, and publishing has responded with a veritable glut of senior crime solvers. One title that rises to the top: The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols. A feel-good mystery for…
“Somewhere, deep within, unspoken, we must know, we do know, that we’re all have our time adrift. For what else is a marriage, really, if not stuck on a small raft with someone and trying to survive. Pg. 202 A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst I have a confession to make. I force…
As summer 2025 winds down and Labor Day weekend approaches, no book captures the moment better than Happy Wife by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores. This striking debut deserves all the praise its received this summer, and acts as the perfect seasonal send-off: sharp, addictive, and impossible to put down. Settling into the glittering world…
'"I walked into that one, didn't I?" Matilda said regretfully to Luke, and then, like she'd only just taken proper notice of him, did a comical double take. "Well. Well. Did it hurt? When you fell out of whichever Norse myth you came from?" And with that, she was gone, trotting up the stairs and…
Private Investigator, Annie Sullivan is one tough nut. A former Air Force investigator and ninth generation Appalachian, Annie returns to the mountains to investigate the cold case of three missing girls in Archer Sullivan’s new novel, The Witch’s Orchard. Annie Sullivan is barely making ends meet. She has pawned her prized watch and is…
Annabel Monaghan’s latest release is a smart and sweet success that reads like the best kind of love story, equal parts charming and heartwarming. It’s a Love Story delivers the fizzy delight of a beach read, but blooms into something more: an unexpected anthem to self-discovery and acceptance. When we meet Jane Jackson, she's trying…
"I am John Collan \ today in the yere 1483 I will defeat the goat. \ In the name of honnour and glory to god highest & for reson that it knocked me in the mud again today \ & has TRODDEN churlishly over my back \ has despoiled \ ! \ an insult that…
According to legend, the mythical island of Avalon is where the sword Excalibur was forged and where King Arthur was taken after his final battle. It’s a place synonymous with magic, healing, and grandeur. The Avallon Hotel, a luxury resort in West Virginia and the setting of Maggie Stiefvater’s The Listeners, has a similar (albeit…
“Everything Burns.” Keith Carruthers Hold on to your hats. This one is a wild ride. In S.A. Cosby’s newest, The King of Ashes, we meet Roman Carruthers, a successful wealth management professional. One evening he receives a call from his sister, Neveah, telling Roman to come home. Their father, Keith, has been in a terrible…
For many of us, letter writing has been replaced by emailing and texting. But not for the protagonist in Virginia Evans’ new epistolary novel (a book written through letters), The Correspondent. Sybil Van Antwerp, a mother and grandmother, a friend and reader of books, retired from a distinguished career in law, communicates with people from…
