A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie (1964). When Miss Marple travels to the Caribbean on vacation, she finds it dull compared to St. Mary Mead but then a garrulous gentleman tells her about a murder and dies mysteriously that very night. What choice does she have other than to investigate? My review.
Leave No Trace by A.J. Landau (2024). This is what I would call a “serviceable” thriller - the first book in a series featuring National Park Service Special Agent (did you know there was such a thing) Michael Walker. The book kicks off with a terrorist attack on the Statue of Liberty, resulting in Walker working with FBI agent Gina Delgado to investigate a bigger conspiracy. It seemed to go from crisis to crisis without much character development so I am not sure I will read the next book.
Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh (2025). This is the third mystery featuring Detective Constable Ffion Morgan in Wales and Detective Sergeant Leo Brady just over the border in England. Cases that begin in their separate jurisdictions have a way of becoming connected, just as their relationship seems to become more stable/permanent. My review.
Historical Fiction
The Sea Child by Linda Wilgus. When an impoverished young widow takes refuge in Cornwall, her quiet life is interrupted by a group of smugglers. She could have told them to leave but instead she embraces the adventure. This is what happens when you rent a cottage without a lock on the door! There is a romance but I think this is more of a historical novel. My review.
Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews; narrated by Kathleen McInerney (2020). When her new job falls through at the last minute, Conley returns to her small town in Florida where her older sister has been running a tired weekly newspaper. The unexpected death of the local congressman and resulting scandal gives her the opportunity to continue her career at home, although I don’t know how the paper can support four staffers! Still, the story was entertaining and it is always fun to read about sisters. Plus Andrews turns out to be a Betsy-Tacy fan! My review.
The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage (2026). Lexi Villiers is the Queen’s granddaughter and when her father and twin brother die, she becomes the heir apparent, although she is living in Australia, doing a medical residency, and about to begin a romance. Returning to London, she has to navigate the politics of the royal family, avoid backstabbers, and figure out what her destiny is. This was like reading an issue of Hello! Magazine and was great fun. I meant to review it but the book was overdue and there was a long waiting list.
The Elements by John Boyne (2025). This was a very dark - but hard to put down, even when it was disturbing - series of four interconnected stories that are related through the sexual trauma each has experienced or witnessed, and the lasting effect of such abuse. This was the choice of my legal book group and we had a good discussion, only complicated by some thinking they only had to read the first section!
The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Matthieu (2024). When a retired teacher-turned-substitute dies in the faculty lounge, it creates a ripple effect among the staff of Baldwin High School, most of whom had some connection to the deceased. This was a quirky but very funny story and I don’t recall how I heard about it but recommend, especially if you have ever worked at a school.
Fantasy
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (2020). My boss sees me zipping to the library at lunch and coming back with armfuls of books so he decided to recommend one, and I complied although I rarely read adult fantasy. When the world is taken over by creatures from another planet, the protagonist of this book, Carl, escapes into an multi-leveled cavern in the earth with his girlfriend’s cat, and has to fight to survive. Reading this book was like playing a video game with a snarky expert providing strategy. The author self-published the first book during the pandemic and now has a bestselling eight-book series! It was entertaining but I did not accept the offer of book 2!
And the Crowd Went Wild by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (2026). I was disappointed in some of SEP’s recent books but enjoyed this one, which has chapter headings from The Boxcar Children! The heroine has been dumped by her movie star husband and is falling apart when she takes refuge with her high school boyfriend.
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (1959). A boy from the Lower East Side decides to go camp out in the Catskills - alone, with barely more than a pocket knife as equipment, and not only manages to feed himself but also makes a home for himself in a hollow tree! My BT group decided this was more of a fantasy than a wilderness adventure but it is both. We also agreed that nowadays Sam’s family would be in big trouble for allowing this expedition.
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