This month’s reading took me from a nearly forgotten Black community in the North Carolina mountains to wartime Genoa, the tunnels beneath Paris, and even the icy shores of Antarctica. Three books earned a full five stars, several historical novels sent me searching for more of the story, and a handful of mysteries reminded me that a clever premise does not always guarantee a satisfying payoff. Here are all sixteen books, beginning with the ones I loved most. Five-Star Favorites Happy Land By Dolen Perkins-Valdez ★★★★★ A Hidden History That Refuses to Stay Buried Blending past and present, Happy Land explores family, identity, and the nearly forgotten Kingdom of the […]
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Plenty of Twists—But the Verdict Is Mixed
⭐⭐⭐ Phillip Margolin has long been a reliable name in legal thrillers, so I picked up False Witness expecting a tight courtroom drama with plenty of twists. The ingredients are all there—murder, secrets, and the kind of high-stakes legal maneuvering that usually keeps readers flipping pages late into the night. The story centers on defense attorney Amanda Jaffe, who takes on the case of a young man accused of murdering a police officer. As the investigation unfolds, the case becomes tangled with past crimes, hidden identities, and a web of deception that stretches further than anyone first suspects. Margolin clearly knows the legal world inside and out, and the courtroom scenes feel […]
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November Reads – Lots to Enjoy
Here you go fellow travelers, the books I read in November. It’s a lighter list than is typical for me, but Thanksgiving with the family is a more about food and fun than reading, right? This month I discovered many new authors—Karin Slaughter, Sunjeev Sahota, Erin Bartels, Alison Gaylin, Steve Pope, Emma Brodie, David R. Boyd, and Adele Myers—the advantage of receiving advance reader copies. Some of them I will definitely read again, but there were a couple clunkers. Read on to find out which ones. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to […]
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Not for the Faint of Heart
Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defense attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilized – her life is just as unremarkable as she’d always hoped it would be. Then a case lands on her desk – defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It’s the highest profile case she’s ever been given – a case which could transform her career if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realizes it’s no coincidence that he’s chosen her as his attorney. She knows him. And he knows her. More […]
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