Fiction

The Silver-Haired Sisterhood

The Silver-Haired Sisterhood (the further adventures of the Five French Hens) by Judy Leigh The Five French Hens are back in another improbable adventure. (Old ladies do not really live […]

The Examiner

The Examiner by Janice Hallett I loved The Examiner, a fiendishly clever epistolary novel. I read the book in a weekend, and was repeatedly flummoxed by the plot’s twists and […]

One Death at a Time

One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman Romance writer Abbi Waxman (The Bookish Life of Nina Hill) has written a mystery. Twentysomething Natasha Mason and iconic, retired actress Julia […]

Run for the Hills

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson I am not generally a fan of Kevin Wilson (the weird book where the children spontaneously combust when agitated -Ick), but I took […]

Murder Takes a Vacation

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman As we swelter in Nashville, a river cruise in France sounds delicious! Unless you are the traveler who discovers the body! Mrs. Blossom, […]

The Golden Gals French Adventure

The Golden Gals French Adventure by Judy Leigh Another completely predictable but charming novel features an unlikely pair of friends, wealthy, self-absorbed Fliss and her hardworking housekeeper Shirl. When Fliss […]

Table for Five

Table for Five by Izzy Bromley When Abbie Finch is fired from her fabulous, if all consuming, job in Leeds, she realizes that her only confidant is her cat, Elvis. […]

The Country Club Murders

The Country Club Murder Mysteries by Julie Mulhern In the first of these novels, set in Kansas City 1975, artist, and unhappy wife Ellison Russell stumbles over a body during […]

The Uncommon Reader

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett I love discovering an “old” book (nope, not Moby Dick), such as The Uncommon Reader, a novella about Queen Elizabeth II by the British […]

Bring Up The Bodies

Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Book 2) I loved Bring Up The Bodies, the sequel to Wolf Hall, winner of the Man Booker Prize.  Plenty has been written […]

The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion After many years of contented singledom, methodical professor of genetics Dr. Don Tillman decides he needs a wife. But rather than depend on traditional […]

The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy That I would recommend a novel about the end of the world by Cormac McCarthy surprises me too. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t consider a […]

The Pursuit of Love

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford I also reread Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, which is by far the best Mitford authored book. (Hons and Rebels, an autobiography […]

The Priory

The Priory by Dorothy Whipple For Jane Austen fans! Although not as subtle as dear Jane’s works, The Priory, published in 1939, will appeal to many Austen fans. Christine and […]

The Paris Novel

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl If you are a foodie and a Francophile, this novel will make you swoon! There is no one better at mouthwatering food writing than […]