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Book Recommendation Lists ~~ 2024
------Anna O
by Matthew Blake
Forensic psychologist Dr. Benedict Prince is called in to assist with the high-profile case of Anna Ogilvy, a woman with a rare disorder who killed two people while allegedly asleep. To further complicate matters there seems to be no motive, and Anna has been asleep since the crime thanks to a phenomenon called "resignation syndrome."
------- The Silence in Her Eyes
by Armando Lucas Correa
A young disabled woman named Leah, who has keener-than-average observational skills, grows concerned that her neighbor Alice might be tracked down and murdered by the abusive husband she's fleeing. For fans of: narrators with complex relationships with reality, like those in Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train or the Hitchcock film Rear Window.
-------Deadly Game
by Michael Caine
Legendary British actor Michael Caine tries his hand at suspense in this atmospheric debut, which centers on unorthodox DCI Harry Taylor and the motley crew of experts he assembles to help him track down stolen uranium that London's crime bosses appear to be using to eliminate their rivals.
------- The Mantis
by Kotaro Isaka
This compelling and fast-paced follow-up to Bullet Train returns readers to the violent world of elite Tokyo assassins. This time, killer-for-hire Kabuto is so desperate to leave the profession behind that he takes a high-stakes assignment to buy out his contract -- with fallout that could expose his double life to the people he cares the most about.
------Ilium
by Lea Carpenter
The unnamed narrator in this thought-provoking political thriller unknowingly becomes a pawn in the game of international espionage when her dying husband confesses that he's a spy and requests that she see some of his ongoing missions to their conclusions once he's gone.
-------Kids Run the Show
by Delphine de Vigan
Social media star Mélanie Diore's life is turned upside down when her six-year-old daughter Kimmy is kidnapped. The officer assigned to the case, luddite Clara Roussel, must delve into a bizarre online world and tease apart the reality of the Diore family from the fiction of their public-facing, heavily monetized brand.
------First Lie Wins
by Ashley Elston
In this "genuine page-turner" (Kirkus Reviews), a likeable con artist going by the name Evie Porter develops feelings for Ryan Summer, her latest mark, and contemplates going straight. Any plans for a new life are put on hold after Evie meets a woman calling herself Lucca Marino -- Evie's fairly uncommon original name.
---------Deep Freeze
by Michael C. Grumley
In this fast-paced techno-thriller, passengers including army vet John Reiff get trapped inside a bus after it plunges into a frozen river. John is shocked to wake up in a hospital after this seemingly fatal incident, and as his mind and body recover, he grows increasingly suspicious of what the doctors are -- and are not -- telling him about his past.
-------Where You End
by Abbott Kahler
The only thing Kat Bird remembers when she wakes up from a coma is that she has an identical twin sister Jude, who appears dedicated to helping Kat reconstruct her past. Jude paints a glowing picture of their lives, but if things are so great why does she warn Kat not to leave their apartment? How could things possibly be so unsafe?
----------Perfect Shot
by Steve Urszenyi
In this action-packed and richly detailed series launch, FBI Special Agent Alexandra Martel travels from city to city across Europe on the trail of a nuclear weapon gone missing from a US military base in Turkey. Along the way she'll have to assess the loyalties of old friends and new allies, and stop a group of conspirators from using the weapon to destroy Paris.
---------Sixty-One: Life Lessons From Papa, On and Off the Court
by Chris Paul with Michael Wilson
What it is: the moving debut memoir from two-time Olympic gold medalist and 10-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul.
Read it for: a heartfelt tribute to Paul's beloved grandfather Nathaniel "Papa" Jones, a mainstay in their North Carolina community who died the day after Paul signed his letter of intent to play college basketball.
Don't miss: the tear-jerking meaning behind the book's title.
---------Wannabe: Reckonings With the Pop Culture That Shapes Me
by Aisha Harris
The premise: "Pop culture shapes us, and we shape it right back in an invigorating feedback loop of creativity and interpretation."
What's inside: NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour co-host Aisha Harris' nine thoughtful essays exploring how pop culture representations of race and gender have impacted her life as a Black millennial woman.
Featuring: "Santa Claus Is a Black Man," which revisits the 2013 Slate piece Harris wrote about the history of Santa Claus that prompted Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly to famously proclaim "Santa just is white."
---------Bogie & Bacall: The Surprising True Story of Hollywood's Greatest Love Affair
by William J. Mann
What it is: an engaging dual biography that chronicles the love story between silver screen legends and four-time costars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
Read it for: a nuanced portrait supplemented with newly available archival materials, correspondence, and photographs.
Author alert: New York Times bestselling author William J. Mann has previously written biographies of Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marlon Brando.
----------To Name the Bigger Lie: A Memoir in Two Stories
by Sarah Viren
What it's about: Decades after her high school philosophy teacher encouraged her to embrace conspiracy theories, Sarah Viren was left reeling when her wife was falsely accused of sexual misconduct at the university where they both taught, prompting her to explore the meaning of "truth" in relation to these experiences.
Book buzz: Viren expands upon her viral 2020 New York Times piece of the same name in this "mesmerizing page-turner pulled tight with psychological tension" (Publishers Weekly).
-----------By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy
by Michael G. Vickers
What it is: former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD-I) Michael G. Vickers' debut memoir detailing his four decades of experience in American security and intelligence communities.
Read it for: the author's clear-eyed insights on global terrorism and his encyclopedic knowledge of military conflicts in which he played a role.
Don't miss: Vickers' analysis of the challenges posed by relations with China and Russia.
-------------Focus on: True Crime Memoirs--------------
-----------Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases
by Paul Holes with Robin Gaby Fisher
What it's about: cold case investigator Paul Holes' involvement in high-profile cases, including the capture of the Golden State Killer.
What's inside: a sobering glimpse of the psychological toll of investigative work; empathetic profiles of cold-case victims and survivors; insightful details on lesser-known crimes.
For fans of: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.
------------Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation
by Erika Krouse
What it's about: novelist and private investigator Erika Krouse's time spent working on a landmark Title IX case involving a sexual assault at a Big 12 university.
Read it for: a candid and compelling blend of memoir and true crime.
Is it for you? Krouse's sobering nonfiction debut doesn't shy away from the complexities of the case, including how it affected her as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.
----------Slonim Woods 9
by Daniel Barban Levin
How it began: In 2010, Sarah Lawrence College freshman Daniel Barban Levin met Larry Ray, the charismatic father of his roommate, Talia. When Ray moved into the communal house Levin shared with Talia and other friends, no one batted an eye.
But then... Ray's charms turned manipulative, devolving into sexual and physical abuse and indoctrination into a cult of his own making.
Book buzz: Ray's disturbing exploits were chronicled in the 2019 New York magazine article "The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence" and the 2023 Hulu docuseries Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence.
-----------Know My Name
by Chanel Miller
Trigger warning: In 2015, Stanford University student Brock Turner sexually assaulted Chanel Miller; after Turner's sentencing the following year, Miller penned a victim impact statement that went viral, inspiring her to expand upon her story via memoir.
Awards buzz: Among its many accolades, Miller's heartwrenching debut was a New York Times Notable Book and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography in 2019.
-----------Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era
by Jerry Mitchell
What it's about: award-winning investigative journalist Jerry Mitchell's decades-long efforts to reopen -- and solve -- high-profile murder cases from the civil rights era.
Cases include: the Mississippi Burning murders, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, the murders of Medgar Evers and Vernon Dahmer.
Reviewers say: "an essential addition to the history of the civil rights movement" (Kirkus Reviews).
----------The Fox Wife
by Yangsze Choo
Steeped in Japanese folklore, this lush and intricately plotted novel is set in 1908 Manchuria, where teacher-turned-P.I. Bao Gong investigates the identity of a local woman found dead in the snow, while rumors spread in the community about shape-shifting fox spirits. The story of a mysterious, vengeance-seeking young woman named Snow unfolds in parallel, until the narratives converge in unanticipated and historically significant ways.
---------Wolves of Winter
by Dan Jones
In this sequel to Essex Dogs, which first introduced readers to the titular mercenary crew, the Dogs are still licking their wounds after the battle of Crécy when the siege of Calais begins. King Edward is determined to take the city no matter the cost, plunging the Dogs and their comrades into a long, cold, bitter fight to survive the winter.
----------The Road from Belhaven
by Margot Livesey
Growing up on her grandparents' poor but picturesque farm in 19th-century Scotland, orphan Lizzie Craig discovers she has the second sight. When, at age 16, she follows her suitor Louis to Glasglow, her life grows complex in ways that her gift, inexplicably, failed to warn her about. For fans of: the heroines in Edith Wharton novels.
------------The American Queen
by Vanessa Miller
In 1865, formerly enslaved Louella Bobo and her pastor husband, William, leave Mississippi with a group of other newly free people and settle in North Carolina, where they found a utopian community known as The Kingdom of the Happy Land. Inspired by true events, this novel by Vanessa Miller (The Light on Halsey Street) illuminates a fascinating chapter of Black history.
----------Neighbors and Other Stories
by Diane Oliver
Posthumously published after the author's untimely death at age 22, this lyrical and incisive story collection is filled with indelible African American characters navigating pivotal moments where their personal anxieties intersect with the difficulties of surviving segregation and poverty in the 1950s and 60s.
----------Twilight Territory
by Andrew X. Pham
In World War II-era Vietnam, Le Tuyet is a single mother living in a remote fishing village after her divorce, which ended the life of luxury she once had in Saigon. With the arrival of the Japanese occupation force comes conflicted officer Yamazaki Takeshi, whose immediate connection with Tuyet will change both of their lives forever, for better or worse.
----------Medea
by Eilish Quin
In this character-driven and moving mythological retelling, Medea shares her perspective on the events that made her so notorious. Born to a cruel father and a distant mother and losing her brother to prophecy, Medea's early life is mired in tragedy long before meeting Jason and bringing her doomed children into the world.
----------The American Daughters
by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
After her mother dies of a fever, Ady, a young enslaved woman in antebellum New Orleans, keeps the family dream of freedom alive despite her grief. Ady finds a mother figure in Lenore, a free woman of color, and through her is introduced to an underground network known only as "the Daughters," who work to undermine the nascent Confederacy from the inside.
--------------The Queen of Sugar Hill
by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
This heartwrenching and well-researched biographical novel tells the moving story of Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Oscar (for her role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind). For fans of Victoria Christopher Murray (The Personal Librarian) and Sherry Jones (Josephine Baker's Last Dance).
---------Ours
by Phillip B. Williams
In this sweeping and atmospheric debut novel by poet Phillip B. Williams, formerly enslaved people find refuge in the titular Missouri town, created in the 1830s by a remarkable free Black woman and hidden from outsiders. As time goes by, residents begin to question the rules they must follow to keep Ours safe (especially the prohibition on leaving town), and wonder if they are truly free.
Thank you, Alias. Some of those sound very interesting.
Alias Reader wrote: "Ilium.."Ilium--Lea Carpenter sounds good. According to GoodReads, Rachel read & liked it. Sadly, i didn't remember that. However, i'm adding it to my TBR, as it sounds intriguing.
Thanks for the list. I was bemused by the number of titles about female MCs, that were written by men.
Alias Reader wrote: "..."It surprises me that Bogart & Bacall's story is still being written about, for instance, in Bogie & Bacall: The Surprising True Story of Hollywood's Greatest Love Affair--William J. Mann. He was being unfaithful to his wife, with his staff all helping the ruse, and she was quite young. Kinda creeps me out, but i know it's a popular story. I'm just surprised it's still being re-told.
That aside, those books based on true crime are disturbing. I was unaware of the story attached to Slonim Woods 9: A Memoir--Daniel Barban Levin Now THAT is creepy.
Other good-sounding offerings include Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases--Paul Holes and
Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation--Erika Krouse, as i was unaware of the private investigation, only the public story.
Thanks for a good list, Alias.
Medea--Eilish Quin is the sole novel that caught my attention from the list, particularly given our recent discussions about historical novels. In this case, revisiting the story of Medea with today's eyes sounds inviting. As far as i can tell, this is a debut book, which has me a bit concerned but that story!Thanks for the full list, Alias. I hope you have found a goodie or two that you'd like to pursue, as well.
Kiki (Formerly TheGirlByTheSeaOfCortez) wrote: "Thank you, Alias. Some of those sound very interesting."You're welcome, Kiki.
madrano wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "..."It surprises me that Bogart & Bacall's story is still being written about, for instance, in [book:Bogie & Bacall: The Surprising True Story of Hollywood's Greatest Love A..."
I'm glad you enjoyed the book lists, deb !
madrano wrote: "Thanks for the full list, Alias. I hope you have found a goodie or two that you'd like to pursue, as well."
I have Know My Name by Chanel Miller on my library hold list.
madrano wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "..."It surprises me that Bogart & Bacall's story is still being written about, for instance, in [book:Bogie & Bacall: The Surprising True Story of Hollywood's Greatest Love A..."
I'm kind of disappointed that Bogart was being unfaithful to Bacall. I'd like for one of these legendary Hollywood romances to be what it seems to be, and I thought Lauren Bacall was gorgeous.
----------Patchwork Quilt Murder
by Leslie Meier
When the director of the new community center and her young employee are found dismembered, part-time reporter Lucy Stone, trying to piece the clues together, discovers the truth rests somewhere between wild rumors, a trusted friend's emotional new sewing project and the authenticity of a mysterious 300-year-old patchwork quilt.
-----------Think Twice
by Harlan Coben
When his former client, renowned basketball coach Greg Downing, who is deceased, has been placed at the scene of a double homicide, sports agent Myron Bolitar and Win, his longtime friend and colleague, search for answers, but the more they discover about Greg, the more dangerous their world becomes.
----------Evergreen Christmas
by Janet Dailey
A newcomer to Noel, North Carolina, horse breeder Jordyn Banks decides to take on the reigning Christmas tree decorating champ, who happens to be the handsome single dad who lives next door with his adorable little girl.
----------Butcher
by Joyce Carol Oates
A disgraced doctor's quest for surgical renown in 19th-century America leads him down a horrifying path of experimentation on marginalized women at a New Jersey asylum, until his obsession with a young Irish indentured servant brings about his ultimate destruction.
----------Death Behind Every Door
by Heather Graham
Posing as a tourist, an FBI special agent visits a Scottish castle that's been turned into a bed and breakfast to infiltrate a society of twisted killers named after the man believed to be America's first serial killer.
----------Devil's Fortress
by Dale Brown
After saving the US from a Russian nuclear attack in the bestselling Weapons of Opportunity, Nick Flynn returns in what could be his most dangerous mission yet.
----------First Frost
by Craig Johnson
Sheriff Walt Longmire tries to manage his increasingly complicated personal life while staving off the violent underworld that is encroaching on the Old West, in the 20th novel of the series following The Longmire Defense.
--------The passionate Tudor : a novel of Queen Mary I
by Alison Weir
Allowed to return to court as King Henry VIII's default heir after being declared a bastard, Mary, the first female queen to rule Britain, embarks on a ruthless campaign to force Catholicism on the English by burning hundreds of Protestants at the stake, earning her the name Bloody Mary.
---------Some Murders in Berlin
by Karen Robards
A serial killer on the loose. A profiler with a hidden past. A world at war.
Trust is a luxury no one can afford.
---------Shadowheart
by Meg Gardiner
When two serial killers—Efrem Judah Goode, imprisoned in Tennessee, and the Broken Heart Killer—are locked in a twisted rivalry, FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix must unravel the connection between them, trapping her between a manipulative psychopath and a ruthless UNSUB and forcing her to dive into two dark and depraved minds.
----------Eruption
by Michael Crichton
A history-making eruption is about to destroy the Big Island of Hawaii. But a secret held for decades by the US military is far more terrifying than any volcano.
----------Stuart Woods' Smolder
by Brett Battles
"In this latest adrenaline-fueled adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, Stone Barrington faces his most dangerous threat yet"
------------Farewell, Amethystine
by Walter Mosley
Easy Rawlins’ latest client sends him down a warren of memory and nostalgia, blinding him to reason and risk, from “master of the genre,” Walter Mosley.
----------One Deadly Eye
by Randy Wayne White
From New York Times bestselling author Randy Wayne White, after the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in a century, Doc Ford must stop a gang of thieves—and worse—during the twelve hours of chaos that follow the passing of a storm’s eye.
----------Clete
by James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke returns to his bestselling Dave Robicheaux series, bringing Dave's partner and friend Clete Purcel to the forefront for the first time as Clete and Dave attempt to stop the ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug.
----------Red Star Falling
by Steve Berry
From New York Times bestselling authors Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood comes an action-packed adventure, borne in the waning days of the Cold War, that propels Luke Daniels on a quest in search of the legendary library of Ivan the Terrible—the unlikely key to ending a looming threat orbiting two hundred miles above the earth.
----------Swan Song
by Elin Hilderbrand
The beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author brings her Nantucket novels to a brilliant finish: when rich strangers move to the island, social mayhem and a possible murder follow. Can Nantucket’s best locals save the day, and their way of life?
----------Iron star
by Loren D. Estleman
"From his youth as a revolutionist to his time as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, aging lawman Iron St. John has become a larger-than-life figure. St. John published his memoirs in a sanitized version of his adventures to appeal to the masses. A generation later, Buck Jones, a pioneering film star, wants to set the record of St. John's life straight once and for all.
----------The Glassmaker
by Tracy Chevalier
This charming fable is at once a love story that skips through six centuries, and also a love song to the timeless craft of glassmaking. Chevalier probes the fierce rivalries and enduring loyalties of Murano's glass dynasties, capturing the roar of the furnace, the sweat on the skin, and the glittering beauty of Venetian glass.
---------Don't Let the Devil Ride
by Ace Atkins
S.A. Cosby meets Don Winslow in the breakout thriller from New York Times bestselling author Ace Atkins. A Memphis woman hires a PI to find her missing husband, only to discover that he is involved in a dangerous web of international intrigue—and she and her children are now at risk.
---------Flashback
by Iris Johansen
"When two sisters in their twenties go missing while investigating a series of brutal murders committed over two decades before, Kendra Michaels joins the search for the missing women.
--------Market for Murder
by Heather Graham
In the alleys of Edinburgh, someone is killing for profit…
----------Our Little Secret
by Lisa Jackson
#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson puts a sexy, twisty, gender-reversed spin on Fatal Attraction in this addictive tale of escalating obsession, betrayal, and violent delights for readers of Peter Swanson, Allison Brennan, Carola Lovering and Stacy Willingham.
----------Proof
by Fern Michaels
Beloved storyteller Fern Michaels blends mystery, drama, and a touch of romance for the fourth in her #1 bestselling Lost & Found series, as a shoebox of mementoes found in a childhood dresser becomes the catalyst for a search into Luna’s own past…
----------Resurrection
by Danielle Steel
#1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel returns with an irresistible novel about a woman whose seemingly perfect life comes crashing down—and learns to find joy in rising above.
Alias Reader wrote: "I have Know My Name by Chanel Miller on my library hold list..."Yes, that would be a good one. I hope it suits you, Alias.
Alias Reader wrote: "Patchwork Quilt Murder--Leslie MeierWhen the director of the new community center and her young employee are found dismembered, part-time reporter Lucy Stone, trying to piece the c..."
I like quilts and i have enjoyed this Meier's series, too, so will be reading this one at some point.
Alias Reader wrote: "The Passionate Tudor: A Novel of Queen Mary I--Alison Weir
This title goes straight to Dan, who likes Weir's novels about these years, both pre- & post-Henry VIII.
What a long, varied list to share, Alias. Thank you.
madrano wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "I have Know My Name by Chanel Miller on my library hold list..."Yes, that would be a good one. I hope it suits you, Alias."
I know a few here have read it and recommended it. Maybe Julie ?
I remember the case & her writing about it but the book form is new to me. And i didn't recognize the name, for that matter.
----------Paper Cage
by Tom Baragwanath
Lorraine Henry, a white policeman's widow, works as a police records clerk in a small New Zealand town rife with drugs and racial tension. When a part-Māori relative is one of three Indigenous children who go missing and the cops aren't all that concerned, Lorraine investigates. First published in New Zealand in 2022, this gritty, suspenseful debut features "a truly crackling mystery" (Publishers Weekly).
----------Murder by Lamplight
by Patrice McDonough
In 1866, Scotland Yard DI Richard Tennant is surprised when Dr. Julia Lewis, who normally helps cholera victims, arrives at a grisly London crime scene instead of her ill grandfather. But with a serial killer at work, he desperately needs her help. Read-alikes: Ritu Mukerji's Murder by Degrees; Ariana Franklin's Adelia Aguilar series; E.S. Thomson's Jem Flockhart mysteries.
--------The Murder of Mr. Ma
by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan
In 1924 London, unexpected events lead quiet academic lecturer Lao She to team up with larger-than-life Judge Dee Ren Jie to figure out who's killing Chinese immigrants who served in France during the Great War. For fans of: Sherlock Holmes; intricately plotted mysteries with a strong sense of place.
----------Cahokia Jazz
by Francis Spufford
In this noirish alternate history starring a hardboiled police detective, Indigenous people didn't die of smallpox and make up a large percentage of 1922 Cahokia, a city on the Mississippi where everyone gets along fairly well. But the grisly murder of a white man agitates race relations. Read-alikes: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon; Better the Blood by Michael Bennett.
---------Listen for the Lie
by Amy Tintera
Despite misgivings, Lucy Chase returns to her Texas hometown, where everyone thinks she killed her best friend five years ago on a night she can't recall. Now a podcaster is on the case, and Lucy's going to help. This atmospheric novel is a Good Morning America Book Club selection. Read-alikes: Samantha Jayne Allen's Annie McIntyre mysteries; Nicci French's Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?
---------The Excitements
by C.J. Wray
Josephine and Penny are 90-something English sisters who served during World War II (including doing top secret work). Heading to Paris to receive the Légion d'honneur for their part in the liberation of France, they plan on settling a few scores along the way in this "utterly charming" (Booklist) novel by C.J. Wray, aka bestselling author Christine Manby.
-----Observations by Gaslight
by Lyndsay Faye
This entertaining collection of Sherlock Holmes stories is told in epistolary form by people who've encountered the great detective over the years, including Irene Adler and Geoffrey Lestrade. Read it for the smart plotting, atmospheric Victorian settings, and in-depth Sherlockian knowledge on display.
----------Seasonal Work
by Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman, the acclaimed author of novels such as Prom Mom and Lady in the Lake, serves up a "delightful" (Library Journal) collection of 12 stories, including a new novella. Tess Monaghan fans take note: the tough Baltimore PI makes two appearances here.
------------An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed
by Helene Tursten
In this follow-up to An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, readers learn more about clever, capable 88-year-old Maude in six darkly humorous stories that detail her meting out justice at various points in her life, including the present day, where Swedish police have just discovered a body in her apartment. For fans of: Arsenic and Old Lace.
------------ Midnight Hour
by Abby L. Vandiver, editor; foreword by Stephen Mack Jones
Centered around the midnight hour, this "excellent" (Kirkus Reviews) collection presents 20 original stories, from cozy to noir, written by authors of color, such as Jennifer Chow, Tracy Clark, E.A. Aymar, Raquel V. Reyes, Gigi Pandian, V.M. Burns, and David Heska Wanbli Weiden.
--------- How the Light Gets in
by Joyce Maynard
A complex story of three generations of a family focuses especially on its remarkable, resilient, indomitable matriarch, Eleanor.
---------Some Murders in Berlin
by Karen Robards
A serial killer on the loose. A profiler with a hidden past.
Trust is a luxury no one can afford.
---------Dog day afternoon
by David Rosenfelt
"Paterson, New Jersey's favorite reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter returns in Dog Day Afternoon, the next mystery in this fan favorite series from National Bestselling Author David Rosenfelt.
----------Flashpoint
by Catherine Coulter
Agents Savich and Sherlock are back in the latest installment in Catherine Coulter’s #1 New York Times bestselling FBI Thriller series, where the past refuses to stay buried.
---------The Moonlight Market
by Joanne Harris
From New York Times bestselling author Joanne Harris comes a richly imagined and captivating novel of two colliding worlds.
---------A Death in Cornwall
by Daniel Silva
A brutal murder, a missing masterpiece, a mystery only Gabriel Allon can solve . . .
--------- A refiner's fire
by Donna Leon
Guido Brunetti is asked by a wealthy friend of Vice-Questore Patta to vet Dario Monforte for a job, a man that twenty years earlier had been publicly celebrated as the hero of a devastating bombing of the Italian military compound in Iraq. Yet Monforte had never been awarded a medal, perhaps because of the sordid hypocrisy surrounding his past.
---------Confessions of the Dead : From the Authors of Death of the Black Widow
by James Patterson
The dead tell no tales…unless they swam in Cemetery Lake.
-----------The burning
by Linda Castillo
Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates a gruesome murder that reveals a little-known chapter of early Amish history in this next riveting installment of the bestselling series by Linda Castillo.
------------ The Summer pact : a novel
by Emily Giffin
Four freshmen arrive at college from completely different worlds. As their college years fly by, the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences.
---------- Desperation reef
by T. Jefferson Parker
In this high-stakes thriller by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker, ("A marvel...hits the high-water mark for crime fiction every time out." —Gregg Hurwitz), a big wave surfer and her sons compete in the same contest that killed her husband many years before.
---------- Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Shadow
by Brian Freeman
When secrets from Bourne's past come to light, he may be the next thing that's buried in this latest entry in the legendary New York Times bestselling series.
--------- The black bird oracle : a novel
by Deborah Harkness
Diana Bishop journeys to the darkest places within herself--and her family history--in the highly anticipated fifth novel of the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series
------------ The Cliffs
by J. Courtney Sullivan
A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, by the New York Times best-selling author of Friends and Strangers
----------- The conditions of unconditional love
by Alexander McCall Smith
In this latest installment of the beloved Isabel Dalhousie series, Isabel finds herself navigating tricky problems both public and personal
----------- Calder Country
by Janet Dailey
1920s, Blue Moon, Montana. The small cattle town is alight with the excitement of cars, telephones, and airplanes. But as new inventions and new roles for women collide with Prohibition and the rising battle between gangsters and the FBI, Blue Moon finds itself—and some of its most infamous residents and powerful families—at a crossroads, and in battles of their own, between hearts and minds . . .
---------- Death on the Tiber
by Lindsey Davis
In first century Rome, a murder victim found in the Tiber leads to a brutal gang war and Flavia Albia to a confrontation with her long-hated nemesis, with all that she loves in the balance.
---------- Shadow of Doubt
by Brad Thor
In a world shrouded in shadows, where doubt is the only weapon, can one spy expose the truth? #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor delivers his latest high-octane thriller.
---------- The best lies : a novel
by David Ellis
Leo Balanoff is a diagnosed pathological liar with unthinkable skeletons in his family's closet. He's also a crusading attorney who seeks justice at all costs. When a ruthless drug dealer is found dead and Leo's fingerprints show up on the murder weapon, no one believes a word he says.
------------- The wrong hands
by Mark Billingham
Unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem. Still desperate to solve the murder of his wife, a young man has just appeared on his doorstep with a briefcase . . . containing a pair of severed hands.
---------- Hard to Kill
by James Patterson
This is Patterson and Lupica’s greatest, most emotional, most suspenseful book ever. Ex-cop Jane Smith is the toughest and most endangered attorney in America, facing down two relentless killers. One of which is a terminal cancer diagnosis.
-------- 2054
by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis
This sweeping and sobering sequel to 2034 returns to the first book's near-future world of rapidly advancing technology, 20 years later. In the interim, both China and the U.S. have fallen from geopolitical grace, an A.I. may be responsible for the sudden death of the American president, and the approaching Singularity poses a threat to the entire human race.
--------- My Name Was Eden
by Eleanor Barker-White
In this compelling debut, a complicated mother-daughter relationship grows even thornier after the titular teenage daughter Eden survives almost drowning. After her near-death experience, Eden's behavior takes a sinister turn, and she begins churning up family secrets, and asking uncomfortable questions about someone named Eli.
-------- The Split
by Kit Frick
YA author Kit Frick makes her adult debut in this fast-paced and haunting work of psychological suspense, which examines the nature of choice through the fraught relationship between two sisters and one desperate late night phone call between them. For fans of: The Choice by Gillian McAllister and The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton.
--------- The Mystery Writer
by Sulari Gentill
Theodosia "Theo" Benton puts aside her legal career to finally get serious about writing, moving in with her brother Gus and convincing an established author to mentor her. But when her mentor turns up dead and the police decide Gus is a person of interest, Theo makes a decision she can't take back in order to find out what really happened.
--------- One of the Good Guys
by Araminta Hall
In this fast-paced and intricately plotted psychological suspense novel, narrator Cole leaves his London life (and failed marriage) behind to start over in a quiet town on England's South Coast. He starts getting close to his neighbor, an artist called Leonora, but the local disappearance of two activists upends their tenuous relationship and uncovers that neither of them are quite who they seem to be.
--------- The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
by Janice Hallett
Washed-up true crime writer Amanda Bailey sees the chance to revitalize her career by writing a book about the titular Alperton Angels, a cult known for brainwashing a teen mother into believing that her child was the antichrist. Forced to collaborate with a professional rival also interested in the group, she soon discovers that the disturbing, dark truth is much stranger than fiction.
---------- Who to Believe
by Edwin Hill
In this incisive and intricately plotted small-town thriller, gossip about residents' personal lives intersects in unpredictable ways with the violent death of a local restaurateur. After the murder naturally sends the rumor mill into overdrive, uncovering the killer's identity becomes an infinitely more treacherous proposition. For fans of Riley Sager.
---------- The Fortune Seller
by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
One part coming-of-age story and one part atmospheric suspense, The Fortune Seller stars social outsider Rosie Macalister as she returns to Yale for her senior year, where she's on an equestrian team scholarship. The seemingly accidental death of a teammate ends up poisoning Rosie's social circle, and after graduation the members of the team begin receiving sinister messages that cast doubt on everything they thought they knew.
--------- Kingpin
by Michael Lawson
Veteran political fixer Joe DeMarco returns in the gritty and action-packed follow-up to Alligator Alley. This time, his well-connected erstwhile employer tasks Joe with uncovering the truth behind the mysterious death of one of his interns, where he'll find a complex web of corruption, assassins, and unanticipated ties to the Albanian mafia.
--------- Northwoods
by Amy Pease
Traumatized Afghanistan vet Eli North is a problem drinker with untreated PTSD and a failing marriage. After his Fish and Wildlife Service job is eliminated, he returns to the picturesque Midwestern home town where his mother is the sheriff, and where his efforts to help investigate the murder of a young boy will uncover ugly secrets about the town's opioid crisis.
Alias Reader wrote: "Cahokia Jazz--Francis Spufford..."I'm quite torn on this one. I do not like reading long mysteries and this one apparently rings in at almost 500 pages. My inclination is to skip it.
However, Cahokia is my favorite Native American site in the US. This alternative Cahokia could be interesting...What will i do?
Meanwhile, The Excitements--C.J. Wray sounds promising. Ninety year old sisters on a road trip, including score settling? Yes, please.
The second in series An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed was not as good for me as the first from Helene Tursten. I suspect the novelty of an old woman killing people lost some of its charm, if that be the word. However, i still enjoyed it.
Alias Reader wrote: "--------- How the Light Gets in
by Joyce Maynard...."
I am quite pleased to declare none of the books from the next two posts called to me much. Much. :-) To be fair, i skimmed, having found several from the first post of the day.
---------Who's Afraid of Gender?
by Judith Butler
Groundbreaking gender studies scholar Judith Butler explores how right-wing ideologues weaponize gender to spread fear-mongering misinformation in this thought-provoking study named a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by ELLE, The New York Times, TIME, The Washington Post, and more. Further reading: He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailar.
---------Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words
by Anne Curzan, Ph.D.
University of Michigan English professor Anne Curzan's witty guide celebrates the evolution and flexibility of language, arguing for the importance of effective communication over "proper" usage. Try this next: Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian by Ellen Jovin.
---------Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling
by Jason De León
Anthropologist and MacArthur Fellow Jason De León's bleak yet moving account demythologizes the work of human smugglers (also known as "coyotes" or "guías") who help bring migrants to America's southern border. Kirkus Reviews calls it "an exemplary ethnography of central importance to any discussion of immigration policy or reform." Further reading: Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Lives in Between by Jonathan Blitzer.
---------The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an...
by Daniel de Visé
Journalist Daniel de Visé's engaging and nostalgic pop culture history offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the iconic 1980 film The Blues Brothers and the friendship between its two stars, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Try this next: Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever by Nick de Semlyen.
---------Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
by Kathleen DuVal
Award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal's sweeping and scholarly history offers a corrective to Eurocentric narratives about Indigenous Americans by spotlighting one thousand years of Native autonomy, governance, and resistance. For fans of: National Book Award-winning The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk.
---------The Black Box: Writing the Race
by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
In his accessible and richly detailed latest, historian and bestselling author Henry Louis Gates, Jr. surveys five centuries of the Black literary canon, revealing the complexities and contradictions of Black self-definition in the written word. Try this next: Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature by Farah Jasmine Griffin.
----------The Moth Presents A Point of Beauty: True Stories of Holding On and Letting Go
by The Moth (editor); foreword by Mike Birbiglia
This inspiring and affecting collection offers 50 true stories that celebrate finding beauty in the face of life's changes. Curated by the editors of the nonprofit storytelling group The Moth, A Point of Beauty follows All These Wonders and Occasional Magic. For fans of: Ross Gay.
-------------Takeover: Hitler's Final Rise to Power
by Timothy W. Ryback
Historian Timothy W. Ryback's richly detailed, you-are-there latest utilizes previously unseen archival materials to chronicle the six fateful months before Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. For fans of: In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.
Make Room to Listen
--------The Silence
DeLillo, Don
It is Super Bowl Sunday in the year 2022. Five people, dinner, an apartment on the east side of Manhattan. The retired physics professor and her husband and her former student waiting for the couple who will join them from what becomes a dramatic flight from Paris. The conversation ranges from a survey telescope in North-central Chile to a favorite brand of bourbon to Einstein's 1912 Manuscript on the Special Theory of Relativity. Then something happens and the digital connections that have transformed our lives are severed.
------How to Work With (Almost) Anyone : Five Questions for Building the Best Possible Relationships
Bungay Stanier, Michael
Bungay Stanier shares a tested process that sets up working relationships for the best possible success. It shows you how to communicate about who you are and what brings out the best and the worst in you. It gives you the tools to talk with your colleagues about how you operate, and to set a social contract for how you'll work together (not just what you'll be working on). It teaches you how to keep relationships strong and healthy, clear and clean.
------Quiet : The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
Cain, Susan
In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, impeccably researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.
------The ROI of LOL : How Laughter Breaks Down Walls, Drives Compelling Storytelling, and Creates a Healthy Workplace
Cody, Steve
There are a host of neuroscientific explanations for why laughter makes us feel so great. Laughter triggers "feel good" chemicals in the brain which activate opiate receptors throughout your body and mind. Creating a workplace culture in which laughter is not only allowed but expected is an important step in building the trust, openness, authenticity, storytelling, and teamwork (TOAST) that are essential to any healthy collaborative environment.
------Supercommunicators : How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
Duhigg, Charles
Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing—and then matching—each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives—and how we see ourselves, and others—shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly.
------Listen : On Music, Sound and Us
Faber, Michel
There are countless books on music with much analysis given to musicians, bands, eras and/or genres. But rarely does a book delve into what's going on inside us when we listen. Michel Faber explores two big questions: how we listen to music and why we listen to music. To answer these he considers biology, age, illness, the notion of 'cool', commerce, the dichotomy between 'good' and 'bad' taste and, through extensive interviews with musicians, unlocks some surprising answers.
---------The Sign for Home
Fell, Blair
Arlo Dilly is young, handsome, and eager to meet the right girl. He also happens to be DeafBlind, a Jehovah's Witness, and under the strict guardianship of his controlling uncle. His chances of finding someone to love seem slim to none. And yet, it happened once before: many years ago, at a boarding school for the Deaf, Arlo met the love of his life--a mysterious girl with onyx eyes and beautifully expressive hands which told him the most amazing stories. But tragedy struck, and their love was lost forever--or so Arlo thought.
--------Greek Lessons
Han, Kang
In a classroom in Seoul, a young woman watches her Greek language teacher at the blackboard. She tries to speak but has lost her voice. Her teacher finds himself drawn to the silent woman, for day by day he is losing his sight. Soon the two discover a deeper pain binds them together. For her, in the space of just a few months, she has lost both her mother and the custody battle for her nine-year-old son. For him, it's the pain of growing up between Korea and Germany, being torn between two cultures and languages, and the fear of losing his independence.
--------Good Talk : A Memoir in Conversations
Jacob, Mira
Like many six-year-olds, Mira Jacob's half-Jewish, half-Indian son, Z, has questions about everything. At first they are innocuous enough, but as tensions from the 2016 election spread from the media into his own family, they become much, much more complicated. Trying to answer him honestly, Mira has to think back to where she's gotten her own answers: her most formative conversations about race, color, sexuality, and, of course, love. Written with humor and vulnerability, this deeply relatable graphic memoir is a love letter to the art of conversation--and to the hope that hovers in our most difficult questions.
------The Magical Language of Others : A Memoir
Koh, EJ
After living in America for over a decade, Eun Ji's parents return to Korea for work, leaving fifteen-year-old Eun Ji and her brother behind in the family's new California home. Overnight, Eun Ji finds herself in a world made strange in her mother's absence. Her mother writes letters over the years seeking forgiveness and love-letters Eun Ji cannot understand until she finds them years later hidden in a box. The letters lay bare the impact of her mother's departure, as Eun Ji gets to know the woman who raised her and left her behind.
--------The War of Words : How America’s GI Journalists Battled Censorship and Propaganda to Help Win World War II
Manning, Molly Guptill
At a time when civilian periodicals faced strict censorship, US Army Chief of Staff George Marshall won the support of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to create an expansive troop-newspaper program. Both Marshall and FDR recognized that there was a second struggle taking place outside the battlefields of World War II--the war of words. While Hitler inundated the globe with propaganda, morale across the US Army dwindled. As the Axis blurred the lines between truth and fiction, the best defense was for American troops to bring the truth into focus by writing it down and disseminating it themselves.
------You’re Not Listening : What You’re Missing and Why It Matters
Murphy, Kate
Despite constant digital communication we are lonelier, more isolated, and less tolerant than ever before. Murphy explains why we're not listening, what it's doing to us, and how we can reverse the trend. She makes accessible the psychology, neuroscience, and sociology of listening while also introducing us to some of the best listeners out there. It's time to stop talking and start listening.
-------An Outsider’s Guide to Humans : What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are
Pang, Camilla
Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her. Desperate for a solution, she asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. With no blueprint to life, Pang began to create her own, using the language she understands best: science. That lifelong project eventually resulted in An Outsider's Guide to Humans, an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in--which is helpful to even the most neurotypical thinker.
--------The Best Strangers in the World : Stories From a Life Spent Listening
Shapiro, Ari
In his first book, broadcaster Ari Shapiro takes us around the globe to reveal the stories behind narratives that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. He details his time traveling on Air Force One with President Obama, or following the path of Syrian refugees fleeing war, or learning from those fighting for social justice both at home and abroad. As the self-reinforcing bubbles we live in become more impenetrable, Ari Shapiro keeps seeking ways to help people listen to one another; to find connection and commonality with those who may seem different; to remind us that, before religion, or nationality, or politics, we are all human.
Thanks for the lists, Alias. From it i found a book for our prompt--35- about a disability or character has a disability.Greek Lessons--Han KangThere were other interesting books but this is a "for sure", not just a TBR. (I didn't know i had such a list, but there it is!)
madrano wrote: "Thanks for the lists, Alias. From it i found a book for our prompt--35- about a disability or character has a disability.Greek Lessons--Han KangThere were other i..."
You're welcome.
I thought this one would be the one you would be interested in.
---------Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
by Kathleen DuVal
Award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal's sweeping and scholarly history offers a corrective to Eurocentric narratives about Indigenous Americans by spotlighting one thousand years of Native autonomy, governance, and resistance. For fans of: National Book Award-winning The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk.
Native Nations: A Millennium in North America--Kathleen DuVal does sound good. After reading 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus--Charles C. Mann, which was eye opening, i felt sated, so i haven't read more large books about pre-Columbian history, reading smaller ones, written by tribe members, if possible.Your point is well taken, though, Alias. I also like reading history by female historians, seeing how they present their subjects. Thanks for taking the time to note this, as i'm now adding it to my TBR. However...at over 700 pages, it seems unlikely i'll be reading it anytime soon.
--------The Mystery Writer
by Sulari Gentill
Abruptly leaving law school in Australia, Theodosia "Theo" Benton moves to Lawrence, Kansas, to live with her brother and write a novel. She meets a famous author who mentors her, but he might have connections to a secretive online group -- and then he's murdered. Fans of Benjamin Stevenson and Paula Hawkins will like this "fizzy whodunit with pace, panache, and surprises galore" (Kirkus Reviews).
-----------A Midnight Puzzle
by Gigi Pandian
Julian Rhodes blames Secret Staircase Construction for the fall that put his wife in a coma. But California magician Tempest Raj believes Rhodes tried to murder his wife and is using her family's business as a scapegoat. This "fiendishly clever, intricately constructed" (Publishers Weekly) 3rd outing for Tempest also delves into her mom's mysterious disappearance and her family curse.
----------How to Solve Your Own Murder
by Kristen Perrin
A fortune teller at a 1965 English country fair tells Frances Adams she'll be murdered, causing her to obsess over her death. Decades later, it finally happens, and Frances' great niece, 25-year-old mystery writer Annie, must find the killer in order to inherit Frances' estate. This dual timeline mystery offers an intriguing plot and delightful characters. Read-alikes: Emily Critchley's One Puzzling Afternoon; Ruth Ware's The Death of Mrs. Westaway.
----------Ash Dark as Night
by Gary Phillips
In 1965 Los Angeles, Black freelance news photographer Harry Ingram covers the Watts riots, capturing police brutality on film. He's arrested, but with the help of his girlfriend, the photos get printed. In addition, Harry's hired to look for a man who went missing during the riots. This atmospheric follow-up to One-Shot Harry will please fans of Walter Mosley's crime novels.
---------The Framed Women of Ardemore House
by Brandy Schillace
After a divorce, a job loss, and the death of her mother, autistic editor Jo Jones leaves the U.S. to move to Yorkshire, England, where she's inherited a rundown estate. When an old portrait disappears and the sketchy groundskeeper is murdered, Jo and a recently divorced police detective check into it all. Read-alikes: The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller; Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club series.
---------Death in the Details
by Katie Tietjen
Newly widowed and in need of money, Maple Bishop starts selling intricate dollhouses in 1946 Vermont. While delivering her first order, she finds a body, and the cops say it's suicide. Maple disagrees, creating a diorama of the scene to prove it's murder and investigating with help from a rookie cop. Katie Tietjen's fascinating debut is inspired by Frances Glessner Lee's Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.
******If You Like: Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz writes novels for kids (the Alex Rider series) and adults (including two official James Bond novels) as well as screenplays (Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders). He's known for his clever writing, inventive plots, and well-drawn characters. If you're new to him, pick up Magpie Murders. If you're on the hold list for the 5th entry in his Daniel Hawthorne series, Close to Death, which came out in April, check out one of the books below while you wait:
-----------The Eyre Affair
by Jasper Fforde
Special Operative Thursday Next is a literary detective in an alternate England where dodos are kept as pets and fictional characters are as real as "real" people. So when Jane Eyre is kidnapped from her book, it's up to Thursday to save the day. This charming mix of humorous mystery, police procedural, and fantasy is the 1st in the Thursday Next series and will please readers who enjoy bookish mysteries that offer something a bit different.
--------- A Place of Safety
by Caroline Graham
Inspector Tom Barnaby and DS Gavin Troy visit the village of Ferne Basset after a local man is murdered. There, they find a former vicar still trying to help others, his unhappy wife, two adult siblings living in a glass house, and secrets aplenty. Fans of Anthony Horowitz should know that he helped create TV's Midsomer Murders by adapting the Chief Inspector Barnaby books (of which this is the 6th book).
---------- The Eighth Detective
by Alex Pavesi
Book editor Julia Hart travels to a remote Mediterranean island to work with Grant McAllister, who wrote a paper about the rules of whodunits as well as seven short stories demonstrating them (which are all included here). But Julia discovers the books may hide other mysteries. Those who like creative storytelling and mystery novels' puzzle aspects will relish this fresh, intricately plotted debut.
---------The Marlow Murder Club
by Robert Thorogood
Judith Potts, a 77-year-old happily living on her own in a rundown mansion in a sleepy English village, finds her neighbor murdered. So she sets out to solve the case, teaming up with a dog walker, a vicar's wife, and a police detective who's in over her head. Fans of Anthony Horowitz's mysteries and Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club series will enjoy this debut novel by Robert Thorogood, who created TV's Death in Paradise.
-------Geology Underfoot Along Colorado’s Front Range
Abbott, Lon & Cook, Terry
The transition from the relatively flat Great Plains to the craggy peaks of Colorado's Front Range is one of North America's most abrupt topographical contrasts. The epic, 1,800-million-year geologic story behind this amazing landscape is even more awe inspiring.
-----Spirit Run : A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land
Álvarez, Noé
Álvarez dropped out of school and joined a group of Dené, Secwépemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O'odham, Seri, Purépecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Álvarez writes about a four-month-long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He writes not only of overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear--dangers included stone-throwing motorists and a mountain lion--but also of asserting Indigenous and working-class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities.
-----Greenwood
Christie, Michael
It's 2034 and Jake Greenwood is a storyteller and a liar, an overqualified tour guide babysitting ultra-rich vacationers in one of the world's last remaining forests. It's 2008 and Liam Greenwood is a carpenter, fallen from a ladder and sprawled on his broken back, calling out from the concrete floor of an empty mansion. It's 1974 and Willow Greenwood is out of jail, free after being locked up for one of her endless series of environmental protests: attempts at atonement for the sins of her father's once vast and violent timber empire. It's 1934 and Everett Greenwood is alone, as usual, in his maple syrup camp squat when he hears the cries of an abandoned infant and gets tangled up in the web of a crime that will cling to his family for decades.
-----Better Living Through Birding : Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World
Cooper, Christian
Christian Cooper is a self-described Blerd (Black nerd), an avid comics fan, and an expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, just a subway ride away from where he lives in New York City. When birdwatching in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper was engaged in the ritual that had been a part of his life since he was ten years old. But when a routine encounter with a dog-walker escalates age old racial tensions, Cooper's viral video of the incident would send shockwaves through the nation.
-----50 Things to Do in the Urban Wild
Gogerty, Clare
Immersed in the hustle and bustle of the city, it is easy to lose sight of the natural world. Offering nature know-how to urban dwellers, 50 Things to Do in the Urban Wild features illustrated, step-by-step activities to do in the great outdoors, including adopting a street tree, identifying animal prints in the park, creating a watering station for bees and other important pollinators, and many more. This essential guide will encourage you to engage with (and help to protect) the biodiversity of your metropolitan surroundings every time you hit the pavement, look up at the sky, or take to the water, cultivating a patch of wildness wherever you live--garden optional.
-----The River
Heller, Peter
Wynn and Jack have been best friends since freshman orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddles and picking blueberries and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. When they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank and decide to warn them about the fire, their search for the pair turns up nothing and no one. But: The next day a man appears on the river, paddling alone. Is this the man they heard? And, if he is, where is the woman?
------Trail of the Lost : The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail
Lankford, Andrea
As a park ranger with the National Park Service's law enforcement team, Andrea Lankford led search and rescue missions in some of the most beautiful (and dangerous) landscapes across America, from Yosemite to the Grand Canyon. But though she had the support of the agency, Andrea grew frustrated with the service's bureaucratic idiosyncrasies, and left the force after twelve years. Two decades later, however, she stumbles across a mystery that pulls her right back where she left off: three young men have vanished from the Pacific Crest Trail, the 2,650-mile trek made famous by Cheryl Strayed's Wild, and no one has been able to find them. It’s bugging the hell out of her.
----------Birds, Art, Life : A Year of Observation
Maclear, Kyo
When it comes to birds, Kyo Maclear isn't seeking the exotic. Rather she discovers joy in the seasonal birds that find their way into view in city parks and harbors, along eaves and on wires. In a world that values big and fast, Maclear looks to the small, the steady, the slow accumulations of knowledge, and the lulls that leave room for contemplation.
------Fat Girls Hiking : An Inclusive Guide to Getting Outdoors at Any Size or Ability
Michaud-Skog, Summer
Summer Michaud-Skog, founder of the Fat Girls Hiking community, offers a book brimming with heartfelt stories, practical advice, personal profiles of FGH community members, and trail reviews. It all serves to spread the Fat Girls Hiking message of inclusivity in the outdoors. Equal parts empowering and impassioned, personal and practical, this book adds an important voice to the conversation about diversity in the outdoors, raising visibility of hikers who have too long been marginalized. As the Fat Girls Hiking motto goes, "Trails Not Scales!"
------Trailed : One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders
Miles, Kathryn
An account of the unsolved murder of two women in Shenandoah National Park, by a journalist with unprecedented access to all key elements of the case, and a story that reveals the challenges of wilderness forensics and the failures of our justice system.
----Feral : Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks
Pennington, Emily
After a decade as an assistant to high-powered LA executives, Emily Pennington left behind her structured life and surrendered to the pull of the great outdoors. With a tight budget, meticulous routing, and a temperamental minivan she named Gizmo, Emily embarked on a yearlong road trip to sixty-two national parks, hell-bent on a single goal: getting through the adventure in one piece.
------My Abandonment
Rock, Peter
Living with her father in a nature preserve in Portland, Oregon, thirteen-year-old Caroline only merges with the civilized world once a week when they go into the city, but an encounter with a backcountry jogger derails their entire existence.
------Getaway
Stage, Zoje
Imogen and Beck, two sisters who couldn't be more different, have been friends with Tilda since high school. Once inseparable, over two decades the women have grown apart. But after Imogen survives a traumatic attack, Beck suggests they all reunite to hike deep into the Grand Canyon's backcountry. A week away, secluded in nature...surely it's just what they need. But as the terrain grows tougher, tensions from their shared past bubble up. And when supplies begin to disappear, it becomes clear secrets aren't the only thing they're being stalked by.
------In the Shadow of the Mountain : A Memoir of Courage
Vasquez-Lavado, Silvia
When Silvia's mother called her home to Peru, she knew something finally had to give. A Latinx hero in the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, privately, she was hanging by a thread. She was deep in the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her family, and repressing the abuse she'd suffered as a child. Her visit to Peru would become a turning point in her life. Silvia started climbing. Something about the brute force required for the ascent-the restricted oxygen at altitude, the vast expanse of emptiness around her, the risk and spirit and sheer size of the mountains, the nearness of death-woke her up.
-------Wild Life : Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World
Wynn-Grant, Rae
Growing up in the diverse and bustling California Bay Area, renowned wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant always felt worlds away from the white male adventurers she watched explore the wilderness on TV. She dreamed of a future where she could spend sleepless nights under the crowded canopies of the Amazon and the starry skies of the savanna. But as Rae set off on her own expeditions in the wild, she saw nature's delicate balance in a new light.
Alias Reader wrote: "The Eyre Affairby Jasper Fforde..."
The Eyre Affair--Jasper Fforde is a romp through literature, which i still treasure, even though it's been a decade since i first read it. There are subsequent novels, too, but, for me, this first "Thursday Next" mystery is the best.
For my husband, i will suggest that A Place Of Safety--Caroline Graham is worthy of its place in the Inspector Barnaby series. I'm not as big a fan as Dan but have found the books, as he relates them to me, fun and interesting.
It's a good list, you've shared, Alias. Thanks.
Alias Reader wrote: "Trail of the Lost : The Relentless Search..."
Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail--Andrea Lankford sounds very good. As well i will mention Kathryn Miles's book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders. It's good to learn that someone is asking the questions about wildlife missing humans, which officials seem unable to resolve.
I will also mention that i read & enjoyed Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World--Christian Cooper. Cooper is the man who was accused of stalking a woman in Central Park when he was birding. He's turned those bad lemons into nurturing lemonade, sharing his enthusiasm for the life he's leading.
Indeed, there were several tempting books listed, Alias. Thanks for the titles!
madrano wroteI will also mention that i read & enjoyed Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World--Christian Cooper. ."
I also read and enjoyed Cooper's book.
I put these on my TBR list
------Birds, Art, Life : A Year of Observation
Maclear, Kyo
When it comes to birds, Kyo Maclear isn't seeking the exotic. Rather she discovers joy in the seasonal birds that find their way into view in city parks and harbors, along eaves and on wires. In a world that values big and fast, Maclear looks to the small, the steady, the slow accumulations of knowledge, and the lulls that leave room for contemplation.
------Getaway
Stage, Zoje
Imogen and Beck, two sisters who couldn't be more different, have been friends with Tilda since high school. Once inseparable, over two decades the women have grown apart.
I'm glad to hear some of the books appeal to you and Dan.
--------Sleeping Giants
by Rene Denfeld
The Child Finder and The Butterfly Girl author Rene Denfeld tells the intricately plotted and occasionally heartwrenching stories of young people trying to survive in a world not set up to support or protect them. Searching for information about the mother who put her up for adoption, Amanda Dufresne discovers she had a brother who met a tragic, avoidable fate 20 years earlier at a local "home for troubled boys."
----------A Killing on the Hill
by Robert Dugoni
This atmospheric historical noir follows 19-year-old William "Shoe" Shumacher, a wannabe crime reporter in Derpression-era Seattle whose first big story -- the killing of a locally prominent boxer -- pulls him into elite drinking establishments, undercover gambling clubs, and a conspiracy involving some of the city's most dangerous gangsters.
----------While We Were Burning
by Sara Koffi
Unable to return to full function while mourning a friend who died under suspicious circumstances, Elizabeth follows her husband's advice and hires a personal assistant, the positive, supportive, and effective Brianna. But Brianna has her own reasons for wanting the job, and she'll do everything in her power to see her plans through.
-----------A Better World
by Sarah Langan
Set in the near future, this thought-provoking dystopian thriller centers on pediatrician Linda and her scientist husband Russell, who was just laid off from the EPA. Forced by crumbling finances and environmental instability, the couple move with their twin daughters to a suspiciously idyllic company town run by Russell's new employers.
----------A Game of Lies
by Clare Mackintosh
In this compelling sequel to The Last Party, Welsh detective Ffion Morgan is called to the rugged, picturesque mountain set of a polarizing reality TV show when the crew discover bones that turn out to be from an animal. But when the show's creator later winds up dead, Ffion must root out the murderer before they can kill again.
----------Safe and Sound
by Laura McHugh
As their high school graduation approaches, sisters Amelia and Kylee are reminded of their missing cousin Grace, who vanished just as she herself was about to leave their bleak small town for college. Deciding it's time to find out what really happened to Grace, the sisters begin an investigation that could put their lives on the line in return for the truth.
-----------You Know What You Did
by K.T. Nguyen
Painter Annie Shaw's previously manageable OCD spirals out of control after the death of her mother, a Vietnam War refugee with whom she had a complex relationship. As her ability to function plummets she develops strange gaps in her memory as well, a serious problem when one of her art patrons dies under suspicious circumstances. For fans of: Tess Gerritsen and Lisa Unger.
----------The Berlin Letters
by Katherine Reay
CIA codebreaker Luisa Voekler was raised in America by her German grandparents, believing her parents died in a car accident. The discovery of twenty years of letters between her father and grandfather calls into question everything she thought she knew about herself and her family, all tied to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
---------Nothing Without Me
by Helen Monks Takhar
Awards buzz surrounds April Eden's directorial debut film The Vanished Woman, which stars her best friend Essie Lay in a much-needed career comeback. When Essie goes missing the night of a prestigious ceremony, April takes some bad advice and unwittingly dredges up the complex history of their friendship, with dramatic fallout for everyone.
---------You'd Look Better as a Ghost
by Joanna Wallace
This twisted but irreverent debut follows 30-something Claire, a serial killer more likely to describe herself simply as an aspiring artist. As she navigates the issues raised by her father's recent (non-murder) death, Claire reluctantly agrees to join a bereavement self-help group, where she meets the one person who could bring her darkest secrets to light.
Alias Reader wrote: "--------Sleeping Giantsby Rene Denfeld
The Child Finder and The Butterfly Girl author Rene Denfeld tells the intricately plotted and occasionally heartwrenching stories of young people trying..."
What a collection of different mysteries, Alias. There is plenty for people to select from, whether for their own pleasure or to fulfill a Challenge Prompt or not. Thank you.
-------The Red Grove
by Tessa Fontaine
Sixteen-year-old Luce has spent half her life in the remote commune known as Red Grove, which was founded as a women's refuge from violence and oppression. But when an unexpected death involving a stranger upsets the status quo, Luce finds herself getting swept into internal power dynamics as bitter as any
------ The Vacancy in Room 10
by Seraphina Nova Glass
In this intricately plotted psychological suspense novel from the author of The Vanishing Hour, the crumbling lives of two struggling women become unwittingly entangled by a suspicious death (deemed a suicide by the police) and the enforced proximity of living in the same claustrophobic apartment building.
------ I Want You More
by Swan Huntley
On her way to the Hamptons, professional ghostwriter Zara Pines doesn't expect much out of her new gig, working with celebrity chef Jane Bailey on a memoir. But when she finds herself enthralled by Jane's boundless charisma and the luxurious lifestyle trappings Jane shares so freely, Zara will have to tread carefully or risk putting both her personal and professional lives at stake.
------ Phantom Orbit
by David Ignatius
Amidst the political turmoil of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the personal turmoil of his son's tragic death, brilliant scientist Ivan Volkov decides it's worth the risk to reach out to an old CIA contact when he grows wary of his home country's plans for dominating the world in space -- plans that could threaten the future of all life on earth.
------- The Return of Ellie Black
by Emiko Jean
Washington State based detective Chelsey Calhoun is assigned to the case of the titular Ellie Black, a young woman found alive after being kidnapped 2 years earlier. Deeply traumatized Ellie refuses to say anything about her captor, which seriously complicates an investigation already made difficult by the hostile work environment where Chelsey works.
------ The Band
by Christine Ma-Kellams
The unnamed narrator of this darkly humorous yet gripping story is a Chinese American psychologist who agrees to take in a troubled K-pop star Sang Dun after a chance meeting in an L.A. H-Mart. Sang Dun gains the chance to lay low after a publicity crisis and the narrator gets to break the monotony of her home life, but how long can this unlikely duo cohabitate before their strange dynamic gets even stranger?
------ Home is Where the Bodies Are
by Jeneva Rose
Three estranged siblings have gathered in their small Wisconsin home town to settle the affairs of their recently deceased mother. While sorting through their mother's home, they stumble upon an old video tape that implicates her (and the father who abandoned them years earlier) in a shocking, unresolved crime.
------- Very Bad Company
by Emma Rosenblum
In this fast-paced and suspenseful send-up of tech entrepreneur culture, bored TV producer Caitlin Levy accepts an event coordinator job at a startup for a change of pace. But when an executive disappears at the Miami team-building retreat she's running, Caitlin will need to do everything in her power not to lose herself in the company's tangled web of secrets and lies.
------- A Spy Like Me
by Kim Sherwood
A Spy Like Me is the action-packed follow-up to Double or Nothing, in which the one and only James Bond went missing. Johanna Harwood (aka Agent 003) has recently been placed on extended leave to recover from a sudden personal loss, but grieving or not she decides to go on an off-the-books mission to locate Bond and quell a looming terrorist attack.
------Conventionally Yours
Albert, Annabeth
Conrad Stewart and Alden Parks are enemies, and that's the way it's always been. But when they're stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, the competition takes a backseat as unexpected feelings blossom. Yet each boy has a reason why they have to win the upcoming con tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way-even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.
-------Nevada
Binnie, Imogen
Maria Griffiths is almost thirty and works at a used bookstore in New York City while trying to stay true to her punk values. She’s in love with her bike but not with her girlfriend, Steph. She takes random pills and drinks more than is good for her, but doesn’t inject anything except, when she remembers, estrogen, because she’s trans. Everything is mostly fine until Maria and Steph break up, sending Maria into a tailspin, and then onto a cross-country trek in the car she steals from Steph. She ends up in the backwater town of Star City, Nevada, where she meets James, who is probably but not certainly trans, and who reminds Maria of her younger self. As Maria finds herself in the awkward position of trans role model, she realizes that she could become James’s savior—or his downfall.
------Sleepwalk
Chaon, Dan
Sleepwalk’s hero, Will Bear, is a man with so many aliases that he simply thinks of himself as the Barely Blur. At fifty years old, he’s been living off the grid for over half his life. He’s never had a real job, never paid taxes, never been in a committed relationship. A good-natured henchman with a complicated and lonely past and a passion for LSD microdosing, he spends his time hopscotching across state lines in his beloved camper van, running sometimes shady often dangerous errands for a powerful and ruthless operation he’s never troubled himself to learn too much about. He has lots of connections, but no true ties. His longest relationships are with an old rescue dog that has post-traumatic stress and a childhood friend as deeply entrenched in the underworld as he is, who, lately, he’s less and less sure he can trust.
-------A Thousand Miles to Graceland
Chase, Kristen M.
Accountant Grace Johnson can't escape the feeling that her life is on autopilot-until her husband announces he's done with their marriage. Grace has a choice: wallow in humiliation or grant her mother's seventieth birthday wish with a road trip Graceland. Buckle up, Elvis. We're on our way. Now outlandish mother and reluctant daughter are hightailing it from El Paso to Memphis, leaving a trail of sequins, false eyelashes, and painful memories in their wake. Between spontaneous roadside stops to psychics, wig mishaps, and familiar passive-aggressive zingers, Grace is starting to better understand her Elvis-obsessed mama and their own fragile connection. Apparently the King really does work in mysterious ways. But after all these years, will it ever be possible for them to heal the hurts of the past?
------VenCo
Dimaline, Cherie
Métis millennial Lucky St. James is barely hanging on when she learns she’ll be evicted from the tiny Toronto apartment she shares with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella. But then one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. She burrows through a wall to find a tarnished silver spoon, humming with otherworldly energy, etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM.
-------Our Share of Night
Enriquez, Mariana
In 1981, a young father and son set out on a road trip across Argentina, devastated by the mysterious death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travels to her family home near Iguazú Falls, where they must confront the horrific legacy she has bequeathed. For the woman they are grieving came from a family like no other--a centuries-old secret society called the Order that pursues eternal life through ghastly rituals. For Gaspar, the son, this cult is his destiny. As Gaspar grows up he must learn to harness his developing supernatural powers, while struggling to understand what kind of man his mother wanted him to be. Meanwhile Gaspar's father tries to protect his son from his wife's violent family while still honoring the woman he loved so desperately.
-------Blue Highways : A Journey Into America
Heat Moon, William Least
William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi."
His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.
------Lost Children Archive
Luiselli, Valeria
A mother and father set out with their kids from New York to Arizona. In their used Volvo--and with their ten-year-old son trying out his new Polaroid camera--the family is heading for the Apacheria: the region the Apaches once called home, and where the ghosts of Geronimo and Cochise might still linger. The father, a sound documentarist, hopes to gather an "inventory of echoes" from this historic, mythic place. The mother, a radio journalist, becomes consumed by the news she hears on the car radio, about the thousands of children trying to reach America but getting stranded at the southern border, held in detention centers, or being sent back to their homelands, to an unknown fate. But as the family drives farther west--through Virginia to Tennessee, across Oklahoma and Texas--we sense they are on the brink of a crisis of their own.
------Speech Team
Murphy, Timothy
Late one morning, parked in a desk chair at his humdrum job, Tip Murray finds himself reading the suicide note of his long-lost high school friend Pete Stroman. Mentioned in the note as a root cause of Pete's despair? A disparaging comment made to him about his developmental disability by none other than their high school speech team coach, Gary Gold. As more thorny memories surface from their eighties adolescence, Tip and his best friend, fellow speech team alum Nat Farb-Miola, decide to reconnect with their other teammates, and they discover an unsettling thread: all were quietly wounded by Mr. Gold's offhandedly insensitive remarks. The silver lining? Gary Gold is still alive, and a quick Google search tells the quartet that he has retired to Florida. There's only one thing left to do: confront him.
------The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
Oakley, Colleen
Twenty-three-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it. Tanner wants nothing to do with the uptight old woman until she starts to notice things-weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? And why is the local news fixated on an international jewelry thief that looks eerily like Louise?
------Totem
Pérez Granell, Laura
Two young women road trip through the Arizona desert in search of a spiritual awakening. Crowds gather to see the village wise woman commune with the dead. Strange bright lights flash across the night sky, provoking all manner of interpretations. A mosaic of experiences, Totem offers tantalizing glimpses of characters on their own journeys connected by some ethereal thread. The narrative slips through time and space, delicately drifting from reality to different states of consciousness. Like a vivid dream, this story is rendered through eerie settings and potent symbols, a spiritual puzzle inviting the reader to piece together.
------America the Beautiful? : One Woman in a Borrowed Prius on the Road Most Travelled
Roberson, Blythe
Blythe Roberson quits her day job and sets off to visit America's national parks, all the while pondering the question: Is quitting society for the road about enlightenment and liberty, or is it just selfish escapism?
-----Stranger in the Desert : A Family Story
Salama, Jordan
One Thanksgiving afternoon at his grandparents' house, Jordan Salama discovers a large binder stuffed with yellowing papers and old photographs--a five-hundred-year wandering history of his Arab-Jewish family, from Moorish Spain to Ottoman Syria to Argentina and beyond. One story in particular captures his that of his great-grandfather, a Syrian-born, Arabic-speaking Jewish immigrant to Argentina who in the 1920s worked as a traveling salesman in the Andes--and may have left behind forgotten descendants along the way. Encouraged by his grandfather, Jordan goes in search of these "Lost Salamas," traveling more than a thousand miles up the spine of South America's greatest mountain range.
------The White Mosque : A Memoir
Samatar, Sofia
In the late nineteenth century, a group of German-speaking Mennonites traveled from Russia into Central Asia, where their charismatic leader predicted Christ would return. Over a century later, Sofia Samatar joins a tour following their path, fascinated not by the hardships of their journey, but by its aftermath: the establishment of a small Christian village in the Muslim Khanate of Khiva.
What a bevy of books, Alias. From the Mystery/Thriller batch, i'm checking out Home Is Where the Bodies Are--Jeneva Rose. The idea of learning so much about your parents, after they've died & you can't grill them about it, intrigues me. Lett me hasten to add that several others sounded fine, as well.From the travel section, Stranger in the Desert: A Family Story--Jordan Salama, called to me for its location. Actually, several from the list sounded appealing but this one i had to look up & mark TBR.
Thanks for listing some attractive options, Alias.
You're welcome, deb. I knew the travel ones would grab ya ! ;)
------------Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World
by Caroline Alexander
Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Caroline Alexander (The Bounty) surveys the lesser-known aerial exploits of the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II in this fast-paced and dramatic account featuring diary entries and previously unseen records. Further reading: Burma '44: The Battle That Turned World War II in the East by James Holland.
-------------Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
by Adam Higginbotham
Journalist Adam Higginbotham's evocative follow-up to his Carnegie Medal-winning Midnight in Chernobyl is a compelling and well-researched chronicle of how NASA's negligence and hubris led to the 1986 Challenger explosion. Try this next: Bringing Columbia Home: The Final Mission of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew by Michael D. Leinbach and Jonathan H. Ward.
---------------They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for...
by Mike Hixenbaugh
Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist Mike Hixenbaugh adapts his Southlake podcast in this sobering exposé of how a public school system curriculum in suburban North Texas has been stymied by a right-wing evangelical takeover of the school board. Further reading: The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America by Cara Fitzpatrick; School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education by Laura Pappano.
---------Hip-Hop Is History
by Questlove
Grammy Award-winning Roots drummer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Questlove's lively history explores the first 50 years of hip-hop music by spotlighting one song from each year since the genre's 1973 origins. Try this next: Chuck D Presents This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History by Chuck D; The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop by Jonathan Abrams.
------------The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis
by George Stephanopoulos
Political commentator and former presidential advisor George Stephanopoulos offers a peek behind the curtain at America's most famous residence in this compelling history of the Situation Room, the White House communications hub where consequential decisions are made. Try this next: The Hidden History of the White House: Power Struggles, Scandals, and Defining Moments by Corey Mead.
----------American Civil Wars: A Continental History, 1850-1873
by Alan Taylor
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor (American Republics) explores the overlapping yet intertwined conflicts of the American Civil War, the Second Franco-Mexican War, and the establishment of the Canadian Confederation in this "compulsively readable history of perhaps the most dramatic period in the history of North America" (Kirkus Reviews). Try this next: 1848: Year of Revolution by Mike Rapport.
-----------Paradise of the Damned: The True Story of Obsessive Quest for El Dorado...
by Keith Thomson
Bestselling author Keith Thomson's (Born to Be Hanged) richly detailed latest chronicles English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh's failed attempts to locate the mythical city of El Dorado in the jungles of South America. For fans of: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann.
----------Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy
by Craig Whitlock
Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock's (The Afghanistan Papers) lively cat-and-mouse tale profiles Malaysian defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis, who conned the United States Navy out of millions of dollars from the 1990s until his 2013 arrest. Try this next: Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World by Yepoka Yeebo.
---------- Death of a Master Chef
by Jean-Luc Bannalec
Visiting the historic walled city of Saint-Malo for a police training seminar, Commissaire Georges Dupin is exploring the local market when a woman is killed, seemingly by her sister. But while she's in jail, the victim's husband is murdered, throwing the case into disarray. This evocative, intricately plotted 9th outing for the French detective works for newcomers as well as fans of the charming series, which began with Death in Brittany.
----------- Return to Blood
by Michael Bennett
Tenacious Māori detective Hana Westerman, who was introduced in last year's Better the Blood, investigates after her teen daughter unearths a skull in the sand dunes near their New Zealand home in this "smart, beguiling, and ultimately surprising mystery" (Kirkus Reviews). Read-alike: Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath.
----------- A Lonesome Place for Dying
by Nolan Chase
Ethan Brand's first day as Blaine, Washington's chief of police is a doozy, starting with a threatening note and animal heart on his porch and followed by the discovery of the town's first murder victim in years. For fans of: Craig Johnson; William Kent Krueger; Northwoods by Amy Pease.
----------- The Last Word
by Elly Griffiths
A romance writer's daughters think their mother was murdered and hire West Sussex PIs Natalka, a math whiz, and Edwin, an octogenarian, to look into things, which leads to Edwin going undercover at a writing retreat. Though this is the 4th DI Harbinder Kaur mystery, this outing focuses more on Natalka and Edwin, who also appear in The Postscript Murders. Read-alikes: Richard Thorogood's Marlow Murder Club novels; Susan Fletcher's The Night in Question.
------- Cold to the Touch
by Kerri Hakoda
Anchorage homicide detective DeHavilland Beans tries to find the killer of his favorite barista, who, like him, grew up a multiracial kid in small-town Alaska. When another barista dies, Beans' ex is also assigned to the case, and then the FBI show up. For other suspenseful Alaskan crime novels, try Iris Yamashita's City Under One Roof, Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak novels, and Page Shelton's Alaska mysteries.
-------- Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
by Catherine Mack
Bestselling mystery writer Eleanor Dash is on an Italian book tour with other authors, fans, and her greedy ex (whom one of her fictional sleuths is based on). When a murder occurs, Eleanor investigates in this series starter that features funny footnotes addressing the reader. Read-alikes: G.M. Malliet's Augusta Hawke mysteries; V.M. Burns' Mystery Bookshop novels.
----------- The Last Hope
by Susan Elia MacNeal
In the 11th -- and reportedly final -- entry in the Maggie Hope World War II series, MI6 orders Maggie to visit Madrid in order to meet with Coco Chanel and to possibly assassinate a German physicist. Readers who haven't met Maggie will want to start with the 1st book, Mr. Churchill's Secretary. Read-alikes: Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs novels (whose 18th and final book is out this month); Ashley Weaver's Electra McDonnell mysteries; James R. Benn's Billy Boyle books.
---------- A Nest of Vipers
by Harini Nagendra
In 1922 Bangalore, against the backdrop of the Indian movement for Independence and a visit from the Prince of Wales, Kaveri Murthi and her husband Ramu try to prove a friend's innocence after a murder at a magic show. This charming 3rd series entry, following The Bangalore Detectives Club and Murder Under a Red Moon, has a strong sense of place and a compelling plot. Read-alike: Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry mysteries.
---------- The Last Note of Warning
by Katharine Schellman
In Prohibition-era New York City, dressmaker's assistant Vivian makes a delivery and ends up accused of murder. Having a week to prove her innocence, Vivian uses connections from the speakeasy where she works nights in order to find the truth. This intricately plotted 3rd outing for Vivian works for newcomers. Read-alikes: Stephen Spotswood's Pentecost and Parker novels; Nekesa Afia's Harlem Renaissance mysteries; Sara DiVello's Broadway Butterfly.
------------ The Hunter's Daughter
by Nicola Solvinic
Anna Koray is a dedicated cop in a rural county; she's also the daughter of a serial killer. Raised by a foster family and using a new name, she keeps her past secret, but after shooting someone in the line of duty, childhood memories haunt her and then someone starts copying her dead father's crimes. With its blend of mystery, suspense, and supernatural elements, this first novel will especially please fans of John Connolly and Simone St. James.
Alias Reader wrote: "------------Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World
by Caroline Alexander
Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Caroline Alexander (The Bounty) ..."
Thank you, Alias, for a crop of new-to-me titles. I'm particularly drawn to the first, Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World--Caroline Alexander. First of all, i like Alexander's writing, first read in her book on Shackleton (The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition). Secondly, this is a part of WWII about which i know so little.
On the political front, somewhat, i like what i read about--
They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms--Mike Hixenbaugh. This book is about a school battle in Southlake, TX, which somewhat began the religious right's attempt to take over public education. I'm interested.
Alias Reader wrote: "---------- Death of a Master Chef
by Jean-Luc Bannalec
Visiting the historic walled city of Saint-Malo for a police training seminar, Commissaire Georges Dupin is exploring the local market when..."
Another tempting batch of books. I'm pleased to see Elly Griffiths is continuing the Harbinder Kaur mysteries, The Last Word. We first met in The Stranger Diaries and another. Griffiths also wrote another series i read & finished, as she concluded it, about archaeology, the Ruth Galloway books, https://www.goodreads.com/series/4641...
And, of course, the series set in Alaska calls to me. Cold to the Touch--Kerri Hakoda. Two of the other writers mentioned are dear to me already, so i anticipate pleasure. :-)
Thank you for sharing these. I particularly like it when the information includes "Read-alikes". This gives me a better taste, if i'm familiar with them, that is.
madrano wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "------------Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World
by Caroline Alexander
Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Caroline Alex..."
I'm glad that some of the books caught your fancy. Enjoy !
----------Break Every Rule
by Brian Freeman
From the New York Times bestselling author of Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series comes a breathtaking thriller about a man whose only chance to rescue his family is to return to the past he thought he'd left behind.
----------An Eye for an Eye
by Jeffrey Archer
To save innocent lives, Scotland Yard's Chief Superintendent William Warwick must untangle a master criminal's revenge plot spanning continents after a dying lord's will triggers explosive consequences, including murder, for a billion-dollar deal in a London.
----------Death by misadventure
by Tasha Alexander
Lady Emily must solve a string of high stakes“accidents” while trapped in a lavish villa in the Bavarian Alps.
---------Safe Enough : And Other Stories
by Lee Child
Meticulously plotted and packed with Child's trademark action and suspense, a collection of 20 short stories shows the author's mastery of the short form, and they've never been gathered before now.
----------The Drowned
by John Banville
From the renowned Booker Prize winner and nationally bestselling author of Snow comes a richly atmospheric new mystery about a woman’s sudden disappearance in a small coastal town in Ireland, where nothing is as it seems.
----------The mighty red : a novel
by Louise Erdrich
"In this stunning novel, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich tells a story of love, natural forces and the tragic impact of big business"
---------Killing time
by M. C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin's private detective agency is working flat out on a series of shop burglaries. The break-ins seem to have taken a violent turn when a friend of Agatha's is murdered during a raid on his shop.
----------Shock induction : a novel
by Chuck Palahniuk
"From the bestselling author of Fight Club comes a dark, satirical parable about a string of mysterious high school disappearances, the seedy underbellies of billionaires, and the tough choices we make in the face of an uncertain future"
---------A Christmas duet : a novel
by Debbie Macomber
A solo holiday trip inspires one woman to rediscover her passion-and remember that, sometimes, duets are more fun-in this romantic Christmas novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.
----------Midnight and Blue
by Ian Rankin
John Rebus spent his life as a cop putting Edinburgh's most deadly criminals behind bars. Now having been convicted of a homicide, he's joined them…
----------Polostan
by Neal Stephenson
rom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Termination Shock and Cryptonomicon, the first installment in a monumental new series—an expansive historical epic of intrigue and international espionage, presaging the dawn of the Atomic Age.
----------The Great Hippopotamus Hotel
by Alexander McCall Smith
"Precious Ramotswe takes on an interesting but sensitive case and learns valuable lessons along the way in this next installment of the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series"
-------------The more the terrier
by David Rosenfelt
The next installment in David Rosenfelt's bestselling Andy Carpenter series brings a lone pup to his doorstep, but when it comes to dogs, The More the Terrier.
------------The Waiting
by Michael Connelly
LAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a serial rapist whose trail has gone cold, and enlists a new volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Unit: Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter.
------------What Does It Feel Like?
by Sophie Kinsella
From #1 bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, an unforgettable story—by turns heartbreaking and life-affirming—of a renowned novelist facing a devastating diagnosis and learning to live and love anew.
------------A Woman Underground
by Andrew Klavan
Ex-spy, English professor, and sleuth Cameron Winter finds his past and present colliding as he tracks his first love in the newest entry in the USA Today bestselling series.
-------------The Man in Black : And Other Stories
by Elly Griffiths
From the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries, an eclectic, thrilling collection of short stories, featuring many characters that readers have come to know and love.
-----------Beyond Reasonable Doubt
by Robert Dugoni
A master manipulator accused of murder. An attorney sworn to defend her. Keera Duggan returns in a riveting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.
---------Dreaming of autumn skies
by V. C. Andrews
"Caroline has endured immeasurable loss, isolation, and cruelty in her young life. With her mother deceased and her father remarried, Caroline finds herself under the thumb of her controlling grandfather once again. Determined not to allow her suffering to have been in vain, Caroline embarks on a campaign to reclaim her own power and win over the most powerful person in her family. She will stop at nothing to build the life - and the independence - she so desperately dreams of"
---------In Too Deep
by Lee Child
The gripping new Jack Reacher thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child
------------The grey wolf
by Louise Penny
The 19th mystery in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Armand Gamache series. Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Quâebec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sãuretâe, as he sits with his wife in their back garden.
The Man in Black and Other Stories--Elly Griffiths is neat, as it holds short stories about characters her readers know from her mystery novels. My personal favorite character from her is Ruth Galloway, archeologist, mystery series.Thanks for the list, Alias.
------- The Five Year Lie
by Sarina Bowen
Ariel Cafferty questions everything and ends up on the run after receiving an odd text from her four-year-old son's dad, who disappeared five years ago while working for her family's security camera tech company. Known for romance novels, this is Sarina Bowen's fast-paced first thriller. Read-alikes: The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews; The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.
------- Knife River
by Justine Champine
When Jess was 13 and her sister, Liz, was 19, their mother went for a walk and never returned. Fifteen years on, bones have been found, and Jess, who left town as soon as she could, comes home to find Liz certain that she knows who killed their mother...but Jess isn't so sure. For fans of: Long Bright River by Liz Moore; Into the Water by Paula Hawkins.
--------- Middletide
by Sarah Crouch
In 1994 Point Orchards, Washington, Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of failed writer Elijah Leith, whom she dated. At first the sheriff thinks suicide, but after examining things, he suspects murder, especially as the killing mirrors one in Leith's novel. This slow-burn atmospheric thriller is Sarah Crouch's debut and it combines the 1990s storyline with a 1973 one. Read-alike: Kate White's The Last Time She Saw Him.
----- The Nature of Disappearing
by Kimi Cunningham Grant
In this evocative, character-driven wilderness story, Emlyn, a 28-year-old fishing and hunting guide in Idaho, keeps to herself and has trust issues thanks to her ex-boyfriend, Tyler. Now Janessa, Emlyn's former best friend and a #vanlife influencer, has disappeared, and Tyler thinks only the two of them can find her. Read-alikes: Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates; The Guide by Peter Heller.
-------- Assassins Anonymous
by Rob Hart
Mark, a world-class assassin (and highly entertaining narrator), has entered a 12-step program to stop killing (he's on step eight). Then someone tries to murder him, making sticking to the program trickier and sending him on the run in this crackling novel. Read-alikes: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn; Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes.
------ Blood in the Cut
by Alejandro Nodarse
Out of prison after three years, Iggy Guerra returns to his much-changed family in Miami: his mom recently died, his little brother wants to quit school, his dad is involved with illegal Everglades poachers, and the family butcher shop is failing. Iggy doesn’t know how he’s going to fix it all, but he’s going to try. For fans of: intense, gritty crime novels, like those by S.A. Cosby and Eli Cranor.
-------- Bright and Tender Dark
by Joanna Pearson
This character-driven literary crime novel examines the January 2000 murder of golden girl college student Karlie. Taking place in the months leading up to the murder and in 2019 when Karlie's old roommate decides to look into what happened, Bright and Tender Dark uses multiple viewpoints to delve into lives of an assortment of characters. Read-alikes: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai; Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera.
-------- The Winner
by Teddy Wayne
In the summer of 2020, working class law school grad Conor O'Toole needs time (to study for the bar) and money (he's got school loans and a sick mom), so he accepts work at an exclusive gated coastal community near Cape Cod teaching tennis. Pretty soon, he's getting paid for sex by an older divorcée while falling for a woman his own age, but then things go horribly wrong. Smartly examining class and power, this darkly humorous slow-burn thriller is already in development for the big screen.
What a variety of mystery novels you've listed, Alias. Thanks for the introductions.
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Ah. Did you find one from the list?