đđđđ Michael Connelly is back with Nightshade, the first book to feature Detective Stilwell. Once a homicide cop in Los Angeles, Stilwell gets shoved aside by department politics and reassigned to Catalina Island, stuck handling property crimes. Sounds easyâuntil a womanâs body turns up at the bottom of the harbor, identified only by a streak of purple in her hair. Then a routine poaching call explodes into violence, dragging Stilwell into the dangerous orbit of a powerful island figure and an old rival determined to bring him down. The setting is terrific: Catalinaâs picture-perfect charm hides plenty of shadows, and Connelly makes the most of it. Stilwell isnât polished or […]
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Jewels, Justice, and a Lifetime of Secrets
âŚâŚâŚâŚÂ˝ Kristin Harmel once again proves why sheâs one of todayâs leading voices in historical fiction with The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau. This isnât just a war storyâitâs a jewel heist, a decades-old mystery, and a family drama rolled into one glittering package. Colette Marceau has always lived by her motherâs code: steal only from the cruel and use the spoils to help others. But everything changed in 1942 Paris when a Resistance mission went sideways. Her cousin Annabel was executed, her little sister vanished, and the diamond bracelet sewn into a nightgown disappeared with her. Seventy years later, that very bracelet turns up in a Boston museum, forcing Colette […]
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Amyâs Picks and Pans, Issue 38
Not Quite All Fours đđđđ (and One đđđ) Almost every book I read this month landed a solid 4 starsâexcept for one little outlier. Indescribable Atlas Adventures (the only kidsâ book in the bunch) didnât quite measure up and came in at 3 stars. Still, no duds, no DNFs, and plenty of variety. I crossed paths with Judy Garland, shadowed an assassin, rode shotgun with a S.W.A.T. medic, and followed a Russian spy through enemy territory. I also eavesdropped on Bonhoeffer, argued with a socialite, admired an artist, and got oddly attached to a bookshop with a mind of its own. Oh, and there was an Egyptian scribe tooâbecause why […]
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Love, Loss, and the Bonds That Bind
âââ⨠Ann Napolitanoâs Within Armâs Reach is a tender, multigenerational portrait of an Irish-American family in New Jersey, told through the alternating perspectives of three generations of women. Catharine McLaughlin, the strong-willed maternal grandmother, carries the familyâs history and grief; her daughter, Grace, juggles a shaky marriage and the demands of motherhood; and Graceâs daughters, Lila and Meghan, navigate adolescence, first loves, and the slow pull toward independence. Napolitanoâs prose is intimate and perceptive, revealing the small moments and unspoken tensions that shape family life. The shifting viewpoints show how the same events can be interpreted in vastly different ways, depending on where you stand. Itâs a quiet novel, more […]
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A Haunting Farewell for Maisie Dobbs
ââââ In The Comfort of Ghosts, Jacqueline Winspear gives Maisie Dobbs one final caseâand itâs a poignant one. Set in post-WWII London, the story centers on four adolescent orphans squatting in a crumbling Belgravia mansion. Traumatized, street-smart, and fiercely loyal to one another, the teens are under the watchful eye of a wounded ex-soldier and a troubled nurse. When Maisie is asked to intervene, she uncovers secrets about the house, the young squattersâ pasts, and a wartime murder that still casts a shadow. As always, Maisie brings empathy as much as intellect to the investigation. Alongside her inquiries, sheâs grappling with big life decisionsâabout love, family, and her future. Familiar characters […]
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Grief, Glitches, and a Message from the Beyond
ââââ I Think I Was Murdered blends grief, tech, and suspense into a twisty, emotionally charged mystery. After her husband Brian dies, Katrina finds herself relying on a cutting-edge AI chatbot that mimics his personality and speech patterns. Built using Brianâs digital footprintâemails, texts, videosâit becomes her lifeline. She chats with âhimâ daily, unable to let go. But when the bot suddenly types the chilling sentence âI think I was murdered,â Katrinaâs world is turned upside down. The concept is both eerie and fascinating. The bot isnât just a gimmickâitâs Katrinaâs crutch, a digital ghost she confides in, argues with, and leans on to cope with overwhelming loss. Her emotional dependency adds depth […]
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A Lukewarm Return for Mitch McDeere
âââ The Exchange picks up fifteen years after The Firm, but donât expect the same crackling suspense. Mitch McDeere is back, now a globe-trotting lawyer knee-deep in international legal dramaâbut the story spends more time in airports than in courtrooms. The constant hopping from city to city slows the pace and muddies the plot. It opens in Memphis, a nice nod to the original, but quickly abandons that thread and never really looks back. Instead, weâre tossed into a convoluted rescue mission that feels more like a spy novel than a legal thriller. The characters are flat, the villains generic, and the lawyers? Letâs just say if you disliked them before, this […]
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Apocalyptic Chaos Meets Personal Redemption in This Gripping Faith-Fueled Thriller
âââââ Iâve been watching and waiting for Christâs second coming, so this was a timely read. Vanished by Dr. David Jeremiah is a high-stakes, end-times thriller that hits on both a global and personal level. John âHaggsâ Haggerty leads a military unit tasked with stopping pandemics before they spreadâbut as disasters pile up, itâs clear the world is heading toward something far more cataclysmic. Plagues, earthquakes, wars⌠the signs are everywhere. But Haggsâs real battle is closer to home. Heâs grieving the collapse of his marriage and struggling to stay connected to his adult daughter. The emotional weight he carries makes his fight for redemption feel real and relatable. Jeremiah blends action […]
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Beautiful Setting, Bewitching Premise⌠But Just Okay
âââ The Amalfi Curse was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, especially after loving Sarah Pennerâs The Lost Apothecary. But this one didnât quite land for me. The setting? Gorgeous. The writing? Lyrical. The story? Well… hereâs where things get murky. Iâll admit, I shouldâve paid closer attention to the synopsis. Witches and magical curses arenât really my thing, and the sea-witch storyline just didnât hold my interest. The dual timeline (1820s and present day) had promise, but the pacing lagged in spots, and I never fully connected with the charactersâespecially in the historical chapters. I seem to be the odd one out hereâearly reviews are glowing, and fans […]
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A Late-Night Legend Gets Lost in the Spotlight
Growing up, I was a huge fan of Johnny Carson and The Tonight Showâit was appointment viewing for my dad and me nearly every night. So I was eager to read Carson the Magnificent, but I ended up bitterly disappointed. What shouldâve been a thoughtful biography of a man who defined late-night television for decades came off more like a stream-of-consciousness love letter. Zehmeâs writing is over-the-top and ostentatious, with paragraph-long tangents stuffed with triviaâsome of it interesting, most of it repeated. The structure is a mess, and the organization, or lack thereof, makes it hard to follow. I slogged through overly long sections that felt more like filler than insight. Worst […]
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