Time Travel for Beginners
by Jaclyn Moriarty
Unusual and Compelling Time Travel Novel (6/1/2026)
I devoured this book in a few sittings, then immediately went back to the beginning and read it through again, to see how the twisting storyline could possibly have lead to the concluding chapters. The action shifts between the POV of three characters, Anna, Teddy, and Jade, and timelines that don't only shift between past and present, but between alternate universes. The characters engage the reader's attention immediately, and the story is quirky, sad, funny, and mind-bending in the best way. Time Travel for Beginners is the kind of different, creative novel that is not only fun to read, but intensely thought-provoking, and one I'll continue to think about for a long time.
The Insomniacs
by Allison Winn Scotch
Different and Absorbing Story (3/22/2026)
I loved this gripping, unusual novel about an ill-assorted group of individuals who meet online in a forum for insomniacs and discover that they all live close enough to meet in person. When they meet at an all-night diner in the city, where their waitress also admits that she struggles to sleep, friendships begin to be forged amongst the group across barriers of age, gender, and socio-economic status. The chapters shift between the characters' POV and follow a timeline of 26 nights until the story takes us back into the past, and we realize that the group's meeting may not have been as random as it first appeared. The tension increases as the mystery takes some unexpected turns, and I had a hard time putting it down. The novel explores toxic family relationships, found family, and self-worth vs narcissism, and features relatable, flawed characters, psychological suspense, and romance.
The Midnight Taxi
by Yosha Gunasekera
Strong Debut Mystery (12/7/2025)
This debut mystery was a lot of fun to read. The characters have excellent depth, and the portrayal of the NYC criminal and legal system is eye-opening. The author's own experience as as a former public defender in New York and daughter of immigrants informs both the depiction of immigrant cultures in the city and of the struggles of the less privileged caught up in the system. I love Siri and Amaya and how their friendship develops throughout the novel as they gather clues as to who really murdered the victim killed in Siri's taxi, unbeknownst to her. Alex, Siri's childhood best friend supplies an interesting contrast to as a member of a wealthy, socially prominent family. The suspects all seem like possible culprits most of the way through the story, keeping the pace and tension strong as the climax approaches. If I have one quibble, it's that one of the final twists is pretty clearly telegraphed quite early on and is not much of a surprise, but this doesn't detract much from the story, and I will definitely read the sequel (there's a teaser at the end of the book). All in all, this is a satisfying 'locked room' whodunnit and a strong beginning for some great series characters.
Hole in the Sky: A Novel
by Daniel H. Wilson
Different and Absorbing Story (10/17/2025)
While sci-fi is not my preferred genre, I thought the description of this novel was interesting, and it did not disappoint. A sort of sci-fi/dystopian/fantasy/suspense hybrid, the novel has great characters, including a young, social-misfit Black female NASA scientist with a huge curiosity about the 'other' in the universe, an estranged Native American father and teenage daughter with a tragedy in their lives, a nerdy but intelligent and well-meaning member of the Emerging Weapons division of the defense department, and the mysterious Man Downstairs, a powerful and shadowy figure in the secret intelligence services. The plot is suspenseful, as first contact with an alien force is imminent, but that's not the only danger: something already deep under the earth's surface is being awakened. Neither of these scenarios is good for humanity, and it's up to these disparate humans, each with their unique perceptions, beliefs, skills, and knowledge, to avert the crisis. Point of view shifts between them with the chapters, and this device adds to the pace of the story and keeps the interest and tension high. The story is divided into five parts: Detection, Monitor, Impact, Quarantine, and Last Conflict, and begins and ends with two letters that introduce and wind up the narrative. Once started on this one, it's difficult to put down, and I'll definitely look for other books by this author.
The Seven O'Clock Club
by Amelia Ireland
Enchanting Story (11/6/2024)
I loved this; it's a really different premise and an excellent read. You wouldn't expect a story about a disparate collection of people who come together for group grief therapy to make such a completely absorbing novel, but it does. Each character has such a unique voice; I could have told which one was speaking in each chapter without looking at the chapter heading, and I pretty much fell in love with each one. The story says some profound things about bereavement and grief and its stages while doing so with delightful touches of humor. The story takes an unexpected turn at a certain point, which I won't say any more about because of spoilers, but I found it engaged me in the novel even more as I raced toward the conclusion. Excellent pacing and even a touch of suspense and romance add to the enjoyment.
The Little Italian Hotel: A Novel
by Phaedra Patrick
The Little Italian Hotel (4/16/2023)
This gentle, heartfelt story is a delight to read. Themes of change, loss, grief, mortality, new beginnings, and moving on are woven throughout the novel. The eclectic, somewhat rag-tag group that congregates at the Hotel Splendido, near Venice, forges new connections while learning to let go of the past as the individual heartaches of its members are soothed by their fellowship with one another in the simple, old-fashioned setting. I love all the characters, from the crusty, elderly Edna to the young and innocent Loretta, and the relationships formed amongst the members of the party are developed so believably. The ending is somewhat ambiguous; the reader is left to guess what the future will hold for Ginny, Nico, and Adrian. I'm not sure how I feel about that--I found it a bit unsatisfying. It's difficult to say why without major spoilers, so I'll refrain, but I recommend the novel highly to readers who enjoy the novels of Maeve Binchy and Jenny Colgan.
In the Time of Our History
by Susanne Pari
In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari (9/22/2022)
A beautifully written, character-driven gem of a novel, this is one of those stories that makes you sad when you reach the last page because you just aren't ready to let the characters go yet.
The displacement and the sense of not belonging anywhere common to immigrants are explored here, but the main focus is on the multi-generational family relationships within a large Iranian immigrant family. Cultural clashes and misunderstandings among immigrant parents and children raised in America, cousins, aunts, and uncles make up the meat of this novel. The oppression of women and of minorities in two countries, Iran and the United States of America, is also explored throughout the narrative. The relationships, particularly among the female characters, are depicted with tenderness and unflinching honesty. The action shifts in time from the 1970's to the present, now focusing on one set of characters and relationships, and then another. The characters are fully-fleshed and real, and the repercussions of certain decisions and attitudes sound down the generations.
I highly recommend this novel to lovers of historical fiction and multicultural literature.
The Lies I Tell: A Novel
by Julie Clark
Excellent Psychological Thriller (3/24/2022)
This excellent thriller moves between the viewpoints of two protagonists, one a con artist and the other a journalist, who pit themselves against each other in a cat and mouse game that spans decades. The ever-changing perceptions that each character has about the other parallel the reader's view of the two women as the story progresses. The motives of all the characters slip and slide in a constantly shifting prism as the story unwinds: who are the good guys and who are the bad guys here? Who is telling the truth? Who is conning whom?
I found the characters believable, and the twists and turns keep the tension running strong as the novel unfolds. This novel is a lot of fun to read and also raises important questions about money, power, revenge, and justice in modern America.
Two Storm Wood: A Novel
by Philip Gray
Two Storm Wood (12/20/2021)
This is a compelling novel that combines historical fiction, suspense, romance, and social commentary, and has all the best elements of each. The story alternates between two timelines: the latter part of WWI and just after the war. Amy Vanneck's secret fiance, Edward, has enlisted late in the war, having been forced to do so by the influence of her parents. A gentle schoolmaster, he is in a reserved occupation and is unsuited for battle. Amy travels to France to try to recover his body after he goes missing in action. As she searches for his corpse amidst the horrors of the trenches, she uncovers the scene of a gruesome mass murder. Soon she is mired in an investigation of her own, not knowing who to trust amongst the military on the scene. The depictions of the moral ambiguity of war and the reality of trench warfare are harrowing and realistic, and Amy's struggles are authentic for a woman of her time and class. The characters leap off the page to live in the imagination, and the writing is skillful and powerful as the suspense builds towards the final climax. Two Storm Wood is the best war novel I've read in a long time, and I highly recommend it to lovers of historical fiction.
The Temple House Vanishing
by Rachel Donohue
The Temple House Vanishing (4/29/2021)
This eerie mystery told in dual timelines and from dual points of view evokes a darkly menacing atmosphere from the beginning. The setting is Temple House, an isolated, gothic structure originally the home of an eccentric collector and later a school for adolescent girls run by nuns in an isolated part of Ireland. In the present day, the school is deserted and decaying. The year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the disappearance of Louisa, a scholarship student and outsider, and the young, charismatic art teacher Mr. Lavelle. Their vanishing is still a mystery, but a young reporter is determined to revisit the event by interviewing those close to the pair. In particular, there is Helen, former prefect at Temple House and adolescent enemy of Louisa, now a wealthy socialite, and Victoria, an emotionally unstable academic who was the student closest to both Mr. Lavelle and Louisa. The story is told from the viewpoints of the young woman simply called the Journalist and of Louisa, the vanished. The author does an excellent job of revealing the obsessive nature of the relationships between characters as the story alternates between the present day and the past. The all-consuming character of adolescent love with its loneliness, jealousy, and obsessiveness, is explored along with the clash between the artistic sensibilities of Lavelle, Victoria, and Louisa and the oppressive Catholicism of the nuns. The writing is excellent and the claustrophobic atmosphere builds to a final explosion as the mystery is revealed in the ending pages. This novel will certainly provoke some interesting discussions among book club members.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
by Marie Benedict
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie (10/27/2020)
Benedict's novel is an interesting fictionalized take on the well-known disappearance of the mystery writer Agatha Christie in 1926 when her whereabouts were unknown for eleven days. Her car was found abandoned with a bag of clothes inside. Although it was unknown to the press at the time, Mrs. Christie's husband had just told her that he wanted a divorce in order to marry his mistress. Her vanishing caused a sensation in newspapers all across England, the police and public wondering if she had become a victim of foul play in the style of one of her own novels.
The author has organized the story using alternating dual timelines, one encompassing the early years of Christie's romance, marriage, and writing career, and the other the eleven days following her disappearance. The former timeline chapters tell the story from Mrs. Christie's point of view, and the latter from the viewpoint of her husband, Archie. For the reader, this makes an interesting juxtaposition between two different interpretations of events. The circumstances, attitudes, and emotions which motivate the actions of the characters are well-developed in the chapters dealing with the earlier time frame and the novelist's imagination fills in the gaps in what is known about the real-life events.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I think the dual-timeline approach works well for the most part. The pace moves along well and the characters are believable and well-drawn. There is some dialogue that doesn't quite ring true for me in terms of the speech of that particular social class during that time period in England, but this problem may be addressed in the final edition of the book.
All in all, I'd rate the novel as an enjoyable story well worth reading.
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke
Piranesi (8/12/2020)
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is a surreal marvel of a story. Piranesi lives in a world enclosed by walls, a vast labyrinthine structure confining an ocean, that he names the House. The House contains huge rooms filled with statues and winding halls that connect them. The tides of the ocean sweep through the halls, bringing Piranesi fish and sometimes floods. The only other beings in this world are birds, which occasionally nest in the rooms, skeletons, and a man whom Piranesi names the Other. As the story unwinds, Piranesi becomes aware that the Other comes from a different world, and that there are more of his kind who have visited the House before and may come again. The Other warns Piranesi against these visitors, but as more information becomes available to him, Piranesi wonders if the Other is indeed the wise companion he has always trusted. Then the woman Raphael appears. Who is his friend, and who is his enemy?
Told from the point of view of Piranesi by means of his journal entries, Clarke's novel is full of fabulous imagery and startling revelations. The entries document Piranesi's shifting perceptions as he wanders through the maze of the House and of his own divided mind.
Clarke's poetic language and a compelling plot make the reader's journey through the story mesmerizing. I finished the book in two days because it was so hard to stop reading! I highly recommend the book for those who enjoy literary fantasy and mystery.
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal
by Bryn Turnbull
The Woman Before Wallis (7/10/2020)
"A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal"—thus reads the subtitle of Bryn Turnbull's new novel The Woman Before Wallis. The period of European and American history between the wars, especially the mid-twenties to late thirties, is one which retains its fascination for many of us. Mix in the private lives of the rich, famous, and aristocratic, and you have a novel with all the right ingredients!
Bryn Turnbull's characters have depth and credibility, and her research into the real people they are based upon seems solid. The story jumps between timelines a bit, so the reader must pay attention to the chapter headings, but the story flows well as the main character progresses from her young, naïve self to an older woman who has suffered betrayal but still retains a bit of her youthful romanticism.
I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, which is by turns humorous, surprising, tender, and sad.
Miss Austen
by Gill Hornby
Miss Austen (3/1/2020)
The Miss Austen of Gill Hornby's beautifully-imagined novel is not Jane, but her sister Cassandra, whose life was intricately bound up in her family, especially her famous sibling. Those familiar with Jane's novels will enjoy the prose style, reminiscent of Austen's own, which transports the reader into the life of the early nineteenth century spinsters. The story has parallels to Austen's novels, perhaps especially Persuasion. The lives of Jane and Cassandra and their niece, unmarried women of limited means, are depicted through their correspondence and through the narrative, which alternates between their present (1840) and their past (1813-1817). Cassandra has the gift of finding joy in her changing circumstances and her choices, narrow though these were. The novel explores the plight of women who could not or chose not to marry in such a society. Family members and acquaintances are portrayed with compassion and a sly wit which brings to mind many of the characters in Jane Austen's own novels. Highly recommended for Austen lovers!
Ellie and the Harpmaker
by Hazel Prior
Ellie and the Harpmaker (4/4/2019)
A sweet story about two social misfits who find a second chance at love with one another. Memorable characters and the Exmoor setting make the book very enjoyable. The novel explores the healing power of music and the value of confidence in one's own creative powers (whatever those may be) and ability to love and to give. This is a book to cheer the heart!
My Lovely Wife
by Samantha Downing
My Lovely Wife (11/3/2018)
Dysfunctional doesn't begin to describe the marriage and family relationships of the two main characters in this novel. Harlan Coben and Meg Gardiner both apparently liked this dark psychological thriller, and I read it with high expectations. It is well written, suspenseful and twisty. However, none of the characters is remotely sympathetic. I don't mind characters with flaws--in fact, they aren't interesting or believable without them--but if I can't find anything to like in them, why should I care what happens to them? A reader has to have at least one character to root for!
Meet Me at the Museum
by Anne Youngson
Meet Me at the Museum (5/4/2018)
A gentle story about second chances, Meet Me at the Museum is a story about a friendship conducted entirely through letters. The characters explore themes of family, stagnation and change, finding joy in one's circumstances, love and loss, and the importance of place in our lives. As they continue to correspond, they share more with each other and learn more about each other than either one does with the people they actually live and work with. If you enjoy character-driven novels, and are in the mood for a story that is thought-provoking but not action-packed, this one is worth reading.
The French Girl
by Lexie Elliott
The French Girl (9/13/2017)
The re-opening of a cold case by French authorities plunges six college friends into turmoil in this fast-paced mystery. Nineteen-year-old Severine was the "mademoiselle next door" to the family holiday home of one of the group. Missing for years, her body has recently been discovered in a well on the property. Though Theo, her neighbor, has since been killed in Afghanistan, everyone else who stayed with him during that fateful summer faces questioning by the French investigator. Kate, Tom, Lara, Seb and Caro find themselves reliving the past, with its tangled relationships, jealousies, and conflicting memories. Before long, it becomes obvious that one of them must have killed Severine. The tension increases with the mounting pressure on their lives and the revelation of the true feelings of each one of the group. I loved the characters, and the suspense built nicely throughout. I read it in two sittings over a couple of days, and I look forward to more from this author!
The Book of Summer
by Michelle Gable
The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable (3/12/2017)
Cliff House, the beloved summer home for three generations of the Young family women, is about to fall into the sea. Erosion is claiming the bluff it stands on in Siasconset, Nantucket Island. Dr. Bess Codman, pregnant and with a crumbling marriage, comes home to convince her mother to move out before the inevitable happens. Cliff House has been home, a place of precious memories, secrets, and solace since her great-grandmother had it built during the Depression years.
As Bess deals with its loss and the ramifications for herself and her mother, the story turns back and forth between the present day and the days of the Second World War, the time of her grandmother, Ruby. Many heartaches and buried family secrets of the past and present are revealed as the novel continues.
Themes of home and homesickness for both time and place, and of family love, secrets, and tragic misunderstandings weave throughout the story. I found the novel a bit hard to get into at first, but it soon hooked me. The characters of Ruby and her family—parents, brother, husband-- are especially well-drawn, and those chapters vividly evoke the era and setting. The tragedies that beset Ruby during wartime are relentless, and her determination to "remain strong" in the face of them makes the book compelling reading. Some of the book's present-day characters are somewhat less compelling, less believable to me, and I found myself getting a bit impatient with them. The conceit of the "Book of Summer," a visitor's book kept at Cliff House for those who stayed there to write in each year, serves to move the narrative forward, however unlikely it seems that people would write such intimate thoughts and feelings in an actual visitor's book in a summer home. In spite of these minor objections, the novel is definitely worth the time spent reading it. An author's note at the back informs us that the book is based upon the "real-life erosion of the Sankaty Bluff in Siasconset--known as Sconset—the easternmost spot on Nantucket Island," the solutions for which are a cause of debate and controversy to the present day.
The Typewriter's Tale
by Michiel Heyns
The Typewriter's Tale (1/16/2017)
Michiel Heyns' novel, told from the point of view of the writer Henry James's stenographer, is an interesting read. If you enjoy reading Henry James, or other novelists of his era (turn of the twentieth century), you will probably enjoy this book. The characters are believable and engaging, and the historical figures, such as James and Edith Wharton, as well as other prominent figures of the time, seem true-to-life. As the author remarks in an afterword, "I have been consciously unfair to the James family and to Edith Wharton; they are here represented not as they in themselves 'really' were, but as they might have been experienced by a sensitive and marginalised young Englishwoman." The Englishwoman is question is Frieda Wroth, employed by Henry James as a typewriter, to type his novels and correspondence from his dictation. She struggles throughout the course of the novel to find her own voice, rather than serve merely as a "receiver" of the work of others. As her emotions and loyalties are engaged and challenged, she pursues her goals to the background of the era's fascination with spiritualism, and of women's suffrage and the restrictions of her sex and class which were being challenged at the time. The book is well worth reading, though the prose, consciously written in the style of a turn-of-the-century novelist, may be challenging to stick with for some readers.
