March 2025 Reading

My favorite books this month were The Lost Passenger, which is much more than a Titanic story, a reread of The Heart Speaks Many Ways, and Just for the Summer, a contemporary romance set in Minnesota. I appreciated Prophet Song, the 2023 Booker winner, and its depiction of an authoritarian state but it was hard to enjoy something so much like our daily life and worries.

Mystery/Suspense

The Note by Alafair Burke (2025). A reunion weekend in the Hamptons for three friends turns deadly after a practical joke. Declaring their innocence merely brings up harmful things from their past, and one of them starts wondering if one of her friends is really a murderer. My review.

A Brush With Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan (2010). When Penny Brannigan inherits a charming cottage in North Wales and starts going through all the previous owner’s belongings, she finds a mystery about an artist killed in a hit and fun accident. My review.

Old World Murder by Kathleen Ernst (2010). Chloe’s first day at her new job at a living history museum in Wisconsin is interrupted by a woman who wants her donation back – a valuable bowl. On her way home that night, Chloe sees that very woman has been killed in a car crash. Chloe decides she needs to find the bowl to find out why it was so important. My review.

The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan (2025). When Garda Julia Harte’s police partner is murdered, she is desperate to help with the investigation, even when it turns out the serial killer is also targeting her. This book moves from the present to 1994, with slow reveals of how the past has affected Julia’s present. My review.

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh (2024). When a reality show lures participants to a survival-themed show on the Wales border but then threatens to reveal their worst secrets to achieve high ratings – the result is murder. Returning from The Last Party are two rival detectives, Ffion Morgan from Wales and Leo Brady from England, forced to collaborate to solve the murder as well as cope with feelings for each other. My review.

The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson (2022). Three actresses who have each played an iconic female sleuth encounter murder as a fan weekend at a stately home. Putting aside their jealousy of each other, the women work together to solve the crime in this series debut.  I liked this enough to get the sequel from the library.

Lonesome Road by Patricia Wentworth (1939) (reread). In this third Miss Silvery mystery, an heiress seeks help when she fears that someone in her family is trying to kill her. This is not one of Wentworth's best because too many of the characters are passive or just plain nasty. My review.

Fiction

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (2023)(audio). One minute Eilish is juggling work, a baby, three older children, husband, and home, and the next her husband has been taken by a harsh, authoritarian government, which shows no sign of reason or compassion for its citizens. What should she do? Leave Dublin to escape to her sister in Toronto or wait it out? My review.

Historical Fiction

When the World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward (2024).  I chose this for its unusual setting – in the aftermath of the Halifax explosion of 1917, two women are coping with loss and trauma, not just from the explosion but also from WWI. I had read good reviews but found the vocabulary anachronistic and the characters didn’t grab me.

The Heart Speaks Many Ways by Madeleine Polland (1982) (reread). Emily is visiting friends in Spain when she falls madly in love with a young Spanish aristocrat. When he leaves to fight in the Spanish Civil War, she returns to Ireland, wondering if her engagement will last or if she should start rebuilding her life. My review.

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn (2025). Elinor is swept off her feet by a handsome young aristocrat but she finds married life restrictive, even after producing the desired heir. When her father suggests they all sail to America on the new Titanic, she is excited for an adventure but we know that won’t end well.  My review.

Romance

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (2024). Emma and Justin have never met in real life but are in the same situation – everyone they date finds True Love with their next partner. So when Justin says they should break the curse by dating each other and then breaking up, Emma and her best friend Maddie move to Minnesota to make it happen. I loved this book about two appealing characters coping with lots of baggage.

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez (2022). I liked Just for the Summer so much I picked up a related book about Emma’s half-brother who falls for an ER doctor. Jimenez is skilled at creating quirky yet believable characters. I think I’ll be reading more by this author.

The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin (2015). Sarah is frustrated by a boyfriend who always puts his career first and is never around, so she jumps at the opportunity to change her life by trading her American bookshop with one in Paris for six months. While I liked the descriptions of Paris, I didn’t feel the book really delivered: the characters were not very convincing or appealing.

Children’s/YA

Catrin in Wales by Mabel Esther Allan (1959). When Catrin finishes school, she decides to visit her deceased mother’s family in Wales. Temporarily taking over the responsibilities of the aunt she has just met (who is rushed to the hospital), Catrin makes friends, falls in love, and realizes she has found her real home. My review.

A Ghost in the Window by Wendy Ren Wright (1987). Meg wants to spend the summer acting in a play with her best friend but instead gets sent to visit her divorced father. He is living in a boarding house owned by a family disgraced by a theft committed by a family member. Meg has always had to hide her visions but maybe she can use them to solve this mystery.

Authors Read for the First Time: Donna Jones Alward, Kathleen Ernst, Abby Jimenez, Paul Lynch, Frances Quinn, Rebecca Raisin, Katy Watson

Michigan's Capitol - hello, Governor Whitmer!

Off the Blog: I'm in Lansing, Michigan for a conference, staying across the street from the stadium where the Lansing Lugnuts play! It was a little chilly for baseball - 39 degrees - and I had a Powerpoint due back at work so I will admit I did not stay for much of the Lugnuts-Michigan State game.