June 2025 Reading

June was a varied month of reading and I particularly enjoyed The Eights, with its depiction of the early years of women at Oxford, and Death at the White Hart, a mystery by the creator of Broadchurch. I also continued with Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie series and Martin Edwards’ Lake District mysteries.  There were also some disappointments like the much-hyped All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman - it's hard to appreciate a protagonist who leaves her young child alone to go sleuthing and blacks out from partying!

Historical Fiction

Old Baggage by Lissa Evans (2018). In this amusing novel set in 1928, Mattie, a former suffragette, is stung into realizing she should be educating the next generation to fight for women’s rights. She starts a group for girls that meets weekly on Hampstead Heath but her plan leads to disaster. My review.

The Eights by Joanna Miller (2025). Four friends arrive at Oxford in the first class of women eligible for degrees and, despite their different backgrounds, their friendship helps them make it through a challenging year. This is a must for anyone who loves reading about Oxford!  My review.

Mystery/Suspense

To Die For by David Baldacci (2024). Travis Devine, once an ordinary commuter on the 6:20 am train to New York, is now working for a secret government division (of course). He is sent to Seattle to guard orphaned, twelve-year-old Betsy Odom to a meeting with her uncle, who’s under federal investigation. However, both Betsy and Travis have enemies eager to silence them. This was the strongest entry in the 6:20 Man series.

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall (2025). When a man is found dead, tied to a chair in the middle of the road, a stag’s antlers on his head, it is up to the newly arrived detective, Nicola Bridge, and DC Harry Ward to solve the crime and the development of their professional relationship made the story. I recommend this book by the creator of Broadchurch! My review.

Crooked House by Agatha Christie (1949). This month’s Read Christie is about the Leonides family, living in a sprawling family mansion until the affluent grandfather is killed. Suspicion falls on his much-younger second wife. My review.

The Hanging Wood by Martin Edwards (2011). In the fifth Lake District mystery, historian Daniel Kind meets a young woman who believes there is new evidence about her brother’s death 20 years earlier. He suggests Orla consult his friend, DCI Hannah Scarlett, but Orla dies before reaching Hannah. It seems like an accident but of course it isn’t . . . . My review.

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (2025). Florence Grimes is an irresponsible parent but she loves and worries about her ten-year-old son Dylan. When Alfie, a classmate who has bullied Dylan, disappears and she finds his backpack in her son’s room, she decides she’d better find Alfie to prevent her child being blamed. I put this on hold because it was getting great reviews but I disliked Florence and was bored long before the book ended.

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly (2011). I am not much of a cozy fan but this was a cute series launch about a librarian who moves from Boston to Minnesota and adopts two kittens with somewhat mysterious powers that help her solve a mystery. My review.

The School Run by Ali Lowe (2024). Three mothers in Australia will do anything it takes to get their sons admitted to a prestigious private school - does that include murder? You know I enjoy school stories! Also, weirdly, Lowe is the sister of Joanna Miller above! My review.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (2025)(audio). On Camilla’s first day at work after maternity leave, before she’s even had her coffee, she learns her husband has taken three people hostage in a London warehouse. Her life will never be the same again and there’s no playbook for how to cope as the wife of a terrorist. Admittedly, there were some very implausible parts (and it was obvious one character was a Bad Guy) but I really enjoyed this and previous books by McAllister.

Out of Bounds by Val McDermid (2016). In this fourth Karen Pirie mystery, a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, and a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Karen also finds herself intrigued by a mystery that she has no business investigating, that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. I like this series so much more than the dark Hill/Jordan one I read years ago.

The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed (2025). Nura Khan, a third-generation Pakistan-American matchmaker living in Atlanta, takes great pride in finding the perfect match for each client. She has two problems: (1) the man she loves thinks of her only as a friend and (2) she has an unknown enemy threatening her.  This had an Austen flavor I liked; I would definitely read more by this author.  My review.

Fiction

Trophy House by Anne Bernays (2005). This was my June Book Group selection about Dannie Faber, a children’s book illustrator, who enjoys her life split between suburban Boston and Cape Cod until her husband leaves her for a more attentive woman. My review.

Young Adult

Of Earthly Delights by Goldy Moldavsky (2025). The publisher describes this as a contemporary YA gothic romance about a dark family secret, a lush, mysterious garden, and a love that never dies. I was very disappointed after having read two previous books that were extremely amusing. My review.

The Fifth of March by Ann Rinaldi (1993). In this YA historical fiction, Rachel, an indentured servant for John and Abigail Adams, becomes involved with a British soldier in the days leading up to the Boston Massacre. My review.

Romance

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (2025). Two journalists are competing to tell the story of a reclusive celebrity Margaret Ives, who vanished from the public eye years ago and is living on a remote Georgia island. Alice is warm and impulsive while Hayden is uptight and dismissive so naturally they will fall in love. This is also a story within a story about Margaret’s life. Somehow Henry has been able to attract thousands of readers who don’t usually read contemporary romance but (although I have read most of them) I find them very forgettable.

Update on my 20 Books of Summer:

I’ve read and reviewed 10, started an additional three, but am currently distracted by a lot of library books. I hope to take off a week in August, however, so should have some reading time then.