This was the summer of the murder mystery for me! 11 out of the 17 books I read were mystery fiction. I was on a fiction kick all summer (I tend to read a lot of true crime but I was not feeling it this summer). I enjoyed each and every single book I read, which was delightful. I also purchased each and every single book from a small bookstore. I made a pledge in early 2020 to only purchase books from small independent book stores. I shopped at Books Are Magic (Brooklyn), Diane's Books (Greenwich, CT), McNally Jackson (Brooklyn), and Elm Street Books (New Canaan, CT). Nothing beats spending time in a small bookstore.
I really enjoyed "The Hunting Party". Putting aside the murder, it really made me want to book a trip to a New England luxury inn this winter and sit in front of a fire with mulled wine. The book has some Agatha Christie vibes, which I really appreciated. The setting made the book for me. If you like murder mysteries, put this on your list!
I fell in love with Rumaan Alam's writing last summer, when I devoured his other books, "Leave the World Behind" and "Rich and Pretty". He is the master of developing characters. He portrays the emotions of women so accurately that I frequently forget Rumaan is a man. This book in particular depicts the complexity of emotions women go through as they transition to becoming mothers. I cannot wait for him to release another work of fictions.
This book was endearing. I loved the fact that the main investigators were senior citizens--talk about retirement hobby goals! There were several enjoyable plot twists and it was an all around fun read.
Stacey Abrams is such a gift. She saves our voting system by day and writes fabulous books by night (or whenever she has free time)! I really enjoyed this book and I loved the Supreme Court plot line. This book is a real page turner. Please write more fiction books, Stacey!!
I read and adored "The Vanishing Half" and immediately added "The Mothers" to my reading list. This novel was rich and engrossing. Definitely put it on your list.
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katie bartels
Comments on this post (1)
Thanks for sharing your reactions to the books you’ve been reading. I put my 2-cents on FB FWIW. I
You’ve given me some ideas (S Abrams) but I did not have the reaction you had to The Vanishing Half wh I tried reading “with” Big Red Reads. Did that platform work for you? I buzzed thru the book and some related ones, but found it paled by comparison, and that the platform dragged out th process w/o adding value. Keep reading and sharing! I suggest Colson Whitehead’s latest.
— Elisabeth