Good Reads & Views

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Fiction

What it’s about: “In this satisfying page-turner from "the queen of beach reads" (New York Magazine), a Nantucket novelist has one final summer to protect her secrets while her loved ones on earth learn to live without their golden girl” (Amazon).

Reviewers say: "In her 25th novel, Hilderbrand gets everything right and leaves her ardent fans hungry for No. 26. Hilderbrand sets the gold standard in escapist fiction" (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: Now that you mention it by Kristan Higgins or The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult.

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Fiction

What it’s about: In this compelling, character-driven novel, family secrets and hidden desires hide just below the surface. Lydia Lee was a gifted high school student from a loving family, and when she died mysteriously, her family was shattered. As the story delves into each family member’s past, you learn of her father’s struggles as the son of Chinese immigrants, her mother’s pain at giving up her career, and Lydia’s own inner conflicts and secret life.

Why you might like it: If you like novels told from multiple perspectives, you’ll appreciate the gradual unfolding of this story as you read different viewpoints. Also, if you prefer a strong sense of place, you’ll enjoy the way Ng carefully constructs the 1970s Midwestern setting.

Reviewers say: “Ng constructs a mesmerizing narrative that shrinks enormous issues of race, prejudice, identity, and gender into the miniaturist dynamics of a single family. A breathtaking triumph..." (Library Journal).

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The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Fiction

What it’s about: Caroline is taking her 10 year anniversary trip to London alone after finding out her husband has been cheating on her. While out with a tour group in the River Thames, she discovers a glass vial, etched only with the likeness of a bear. After doing some digging at the library, she learns more about the vial and discovers even more about herself.

What sets it apart: This is not only the story of modern-day Caroline. There are 3 narratives happening simultaneously. Caroline, yes, but also Nella, an apothecary shop owner living in 18th-century London, who dispenses poisons to women, looking to harm the oppressive men in their lives. And also Eliza, a 12-year old girl, sent to retrieve poison from Nella. All three of their lives become tangled in this suspenseful tale of revenge.

You might also like: The Necklace by Claire McMillian or The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor.

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Suspicious Minds by David Mark
Fiction

What it’s about: Betsy has been diagnosed with BPD and has run away from her abusive boyfriend. When she crashes her car on a country road, a local farmer comes to her rescue and she ends up staying with him to recover. Farmer Jude writes poetry, is mysterious and attentive, but also rumored to have killed his wife. Betsy is very happy with Jude but isn’t quite sure what to think...

Reviewers say: “A chilling entry from a master of the dark psychological thriller--one that's uncharacteristically tempered by hope” (Kirkus Reviews); “Author Mark's way with words is the star here, describing clammy skin as ‘like a wild mushroom at dawn’ and a trophy wife with ‘costly breasts and teeth like sugar cubes.’ Questions abound until the end” (Booklist).

You might also like: Try the author’s The Mausoleum, A Rush of Blood, and Borrowed Time.

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The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
Fiction

What happens: The famous mystery novelist Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days in 1926, and she never spoke about that time except to claim amnesia. This novel tells the story of those days from the point of view of her husband Archie, as well as imagines the story of Agatha’s and Archie’s marriage from Agatha’s point of view.  As the story travels back and forth between these two timelines, the reader is forced to ask which narrator is reliable—or if neither is.

Reviewers say: “Mystery lovers, especially fans of Christie's works, as well as those who enjoy period pieces, will find this an engrossing fictional answer to a real historical mystery” (Library Journal); “A compelling portrait of a marriage gone desperately sour” (Kirkus Reviews).

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The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Fiction

What it’s about: The Red Queen tells the story of Margaret Beaufort, heiress to the red rose of Lancaster, a mother at fourteen, and a woman determined that her son would reign as King of England. Margaret is a patient manipulator, working behind the scenes. In the end she conceives one of the great rebellions of her time.

Why you might like it: Author Philippa Gregory is a genius at conveying character. We are able see into their hearts and minds. We see their struggles, the twists and turns that surprise them and us, as the suspense carries us forward.

You might also like: The next book in this series, The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory.

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Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Fiction

Read this if you like: Stories that take you on a wild ride, Ojibwe/Anishinaabe culture, traditions, and language with a sprinkling of French American culture, ice hockey, and fake relationships.

What it’s about: Family tragedies—her uncle’s death by overdose, and her grandmother’s stroke—cause Daunis to halt her plans to go away to college so she can remain at home and care for her fragile mother. After she witnesses a drug-related murder, she is recruited as a confidential informant to the FBI to help investigate the influx of a new drug that is destroying her community. Her undercover work introduces her to the new guy on her brother’s hockey team, who may be hiding something. This multilayered gripping thriller will leave you looking for Boulley’s next book.

Tell me more: Daunis is biracial and uses her knowledge of her Ojibwe heritage to guide her actions and decisions throughout the story. Her special interests in chemistry and traditional plants and their medicinal uses help with the investigation, but also put her in danger as she follows her own leads. The tribal Elders who support and advise Daunis are wonderfully charming and play a key role in the book. Daunis herself is likeable, brave, and resourceful—it’s easy to cheer her on as she takes one risk after another.

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Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan
Fiction

What it’s about: Tilly’s childhood was full of mystery, heartbreak, and mysticism. Her father died when she was a child. Her mother had an awful relationship with the bottle, and no one else seemed to be able to see her dog, Eli. Randomly, her mother uprooted their family to live and work with an old friend, Queenie, in her paradise hotel. Tilda, who is now an adult, has major resentment towards her now-dead mother. She finds a chest of her mother’s old diaries, and digs through them trying to figure out why she was suddenly torn from Queenie’s and sent away to boarding school. In the diaries, she learns some hard-truths and uncovers family secrets.

Why you might like it: Hogan’s books are written with dual-narrative. In her two previous books, the narratives are 2 different people whose stories come together by the end. But in “Queenie Malone” the narratives are by the same person, one as a little girl, Tilly, the other as an adult woman, Tilda.

Try this next: The Keeper of Lost Things or The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, both by Ruth Hogan, available on Hoopla and in-print at the library.

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If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Fiction                                                                                                   

What it is: Four novellas by the master of horror, never before published.

What you will find inside: A cell phone communicating from beyond the grave, a series of apocalyptic incidents, a Faustian bargain, and Holly Gibney - of King’s Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider – facing off against evil in the form of a television newscaster.

Reviewers say: “This excellent collection delivers exactly the kind of bravura storytelling King's readers expect” (Publishers Weekly); “King has gone a far piece from the killer clowns and vampires of old, with his monsters and monstrosities taking on far more quotidian forms--which makes them all the scarier. Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you're new to him” (Kirkus Reviews); “This set of novellas is thought-provoking, terrifying, and, at times, outright charming, showcasing King's breadth as a master storyteller” (Booklist).

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The Gown by Jennifer Robson
Fiction

What it's about: In 1947, two young women, Ann and Miriam, are chosen to make the embroidery on Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown. It is samples of Ann’s embroidery that, in 2016, Ann’s granddaughter Heather inherits. Ann never spoke of her life before emigrating to Canada. Can these exquisite flowers and a few pictures of an elite London fashion house lead Heather to solve the mystery surrounding her Nan?

Reviewers say:  “Robson (Moonlight over Paris) delivers a satisfying multigenerational epic linked by the intricate embroidery used on Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown” (Publisher’s Weekly); “A fascinating glimpse into the world of design, the healing power of art, and the importance of women's friendships” (Kirkus Reviews).

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