There were moments of gold and there were flashes of light
Making up for lost time with a big stack of mysteries and thrillers
I’m back in Pennsylvania after 8 snowy, glorious weeks in Vermont! Well, technically, I’ve been back for about 2 months now, but I’m already counting down the days until I can get back to Burlington (15, in case you were wondering). Betty is beyond happy to be back home playing with her cousin Binx as often as possible and making the most of the big yard space and warm weather. And while I’m enjoying sleeping in my own bed again, I’m more concerned about figuring out what to do next. It turns out that being a full-time dog mom is not as fulfilling as expected (mentally, at least; it’s very emotionally fulfilling). It’s also expensive, especially in combination with my book addiction.
And speaking of my book addiction, since I didn’t send out any reviews in March or April, I’m including 5 books today rather than the typical 3. Consider it a gift wrapped in an apology wrapped in a digital newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
Well, I guess I shouldn’t take any more of your time by telling you how excited I am about the Barbie movie, which inspired my look for my cousin’s recent wedding; or shamelessly plugging my amazing sister/friend Mayana’s new bridal salon, Kinfolk Bride, which has been blowing up since she opened in January (for reference, see this Philadelphia Magazine feature or this ABC News segment). I’ll just skip right to it: here’s everything I’ve read and loved lately.
The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone
If you read Johnstone’s first book, Mirrorland, you probably felt like you were on a weird acid trip not being able to easily decipher memory from fantasy from nightmare. The Blackhouse is equally as creepy and just as enthralling, but much less of a mindfuck. A small farming and fishing community on a remote island in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides has closely guarded painful secrets for more than 20 years, making the community extremely unwelcoming to outsider Maggie McKay. For most of her life, Maggie has felt a deep and inexplicable connection to Robert Reid, a man who died on the island 25 years previously. With or without the help of the islanders, she’s determined to find out what really happened to him, even if it means putting her own safety at risk.
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy
Bear with me for a moment: a queer, punk-rock nun who solves mysteries. Think of a tattooed Maisie Dobbs or Miss Marple but in New Orleans. Sister Holiday has only been a member of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and a teacher at their convent school, Saint Sebastian’s, for a year. Her past is inked all over her body, making her an oddity to the students and her fellow sisters in Christ. When the school is rocked by a series of arson events that leave 2 people dead and others injured, Sister Holiday refuses to sit back while the local police and fire departments bungle the investigation. But inserting herself into the investigation causes more harm than good when she becomes the prime suspect. This is the first book in what promises to be a wildly entertaining series, and I cannot wait for the next one to come out.
The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell
The Great British Bake Off meets Clue in this debut set at a grand family estate in Vermont. An evil Mary Berry-esque host, a lecherous Paul Hollywood-type upstart, sabotage, murder, and decades-old secrets round out this fast-paced whodunnit. For the past 10 years, Betsy Martin has been the unflappable host of Bake Week, a week-long baking competition bringing the best of America’s home bakers to her family’s estate in Grafton, Vermont. Nothing seems to be going right this year, though: first, the network insists on bringing in a cohost; then, a series of mistakes leads some of the bakers to believe that someone on set is intentionally undermining them. When a body is discovered on a stormy night in the middle of filming, everyone becomes a suspect. This novel is the kind of (amateur) chef’s kiss perfection that will leave you craving a Bake-Off binge, a game night, and lots of freshly baked sweets.
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
For all of the true-crime podcast addicts out there, this one is for you. Bodie Kane, a successful film historian and podcaster, has been invited back to her old boarding school as a guest teacher in the winter of 2018. Returning to the snowy New Hampshire campus for the first time in 25 years brings up memories she’s done her best to ignore: family tragedies from her early childhood, the 4 mostly awful years she spent at the Granby School, and the murder of her junior-year roommate, Thalia Keith. When 2 of her students decide to make a podcast about Thalia’s murder and the subsequent conviction of the school’s athletic trainer for an assignment, Bodie begins to see a lot of flaws in the original investigation and realizes that she might hold the key to who really killed Thalia in 1995. The deeper into the investigation her students get, the harder it becomes for Bodie to remain, or at least appear to remain, an objective third-party adviser, especially once she hones in on a viable suspect.
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
This creepy debut is part ghost story, part Misery but thankfully without the sledgehammered legs. Alex has dreamed of becoming a published author for years, but she hasn’t been able to write a word since she had a falling out with her best friend, Wren, a year ago. She’s all but given up on the idea of being a writer until she’s given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a month at a writing retreat with 4 other women hosted by her favorite author, Roza Vallo. Alex arrives at Roza’s upstate New York mansion only to discover that Wren is also amongst the group of invitees. The women are each tasked with writing an entire novel, from start to finish, in the course of their month-long stay with the best one receiving a million-dollar book deal. As the month progresses, Roza’s behavior becomes more erratic, particularly once one of the writers goes missing during a snowstorm. Alex can sense a deeper threat lurking under Roza’s polished veneer, and unless she can figure out what’s truly happening in the mansion, she may suffer the same fate.
That is it for now, my friends. Sorry for the delay, but I hope the extra titles this month will earn me your forgiveness.
As a gentle reminder: my preference will always be to support independent bookstores first and foremost, so please remember to shop locally at your neighborhood indie store. All of this month’s selections are hyperlinked to Main Point Books where I shop regularly - just click the image of the book’s cover to be taken to the website. If you want to find an independent bookstore in your area, IndieBound.org has a very helpful store finder. Or, if you’d like to support local stores on a broader scale, you can order through Bookshop.org. For anything else, consult Google. And until next time,
Happy reading,
Sam