I absolutely LOVED the novel from Laura Lee Smith called THE ICE HOUSE, which won the Florida Book Award for fiction last year. Though the book is on the long side, my interest never flagged--I only dreaded the moment where I'd turn the last page. The author has a gift for breathing life into her characters, both the main narrators (a middle-aged married couple) and the less central quirky but endearing characters. She also did a marvelous job of bringing two very different settings to life--Jacksonville FL and Glasgow, Scotland. The plot was rich with twists--an estranged son, a brain tumor, a failing family business, middle-aged regrets--that never felt forced. Though the writing was lovely, it never drew attention to itself. Loved it!
And two other quick notes so I don’t hog the stage: I wait eagerly for each new release from Elinor Lipman. GOOD RIDDANCE was a fine addition, charming, funny, and heart-warming. Ditto for Barbara Ross’s Maine Clambake mysteries. I love visiting the Maine town she’s created and her cast of quirky characters, all present in her latest installment, STEAMED OPEN.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Right now I have three categories of recent reads: upcoming, already out, and beloved rereads. For the first, I recently finished Joseph Souza's PRAY FOR THE GIRL, coming out this May, which was the sort of dark and dirty small town with secrets mystery I love. Joe's written a genuinely unique and cool heroine; I've asked him to come to JRW when the book is out and talk about it.
Current reads: I'm working my way through the CRAZY RICH ASIANS trilogy. If you have fond memories of the sex and shopping soap operas of the seventies and eighties - novels like SCANDAL (Judith Krantz), LACE (Shirley Conran) and DECEPTIONS (Judith Michael) you will love Kevin Kwan's books. There's humor, there's emotion, there are eye-popping luxuries lovingly detailed. Great escapism,
Beloved re-reads: I'm enjoying Lois McMaster Bujold's World of Chalion series for the umpteenth time. As in her science fiction, Bujold centers women (often older, fully mature women!) and unconventional, not-traditionally-masculine men in her stories. Chalion, an alternate version of 15th century Spain where demons and gods interfere with human lives, is a refreshing change from the eighteen hundred fantasies based on the British Isles and Scandinavia.
JENN McKINLAY: I can't tell you. No, seriously, I can't. I'm finishing up my reading for the RITA (romance writer's award) and I can't disclose the titles. Bummer, I know. Not gonna lie, some were a slog, some were meh, and a few were delightful so a mixed bag, for sure. In addition to those titles that shall not be named, I've been listening to Jen Sincero's audio book You Are a Bad Ass. Highly recommend! It's fast, funny, and super motivating!
RHYS BOWEN: Very little reading going on at the moment as I focus on finishing the first draft of my Queen Victoria novel. Maybe 30 pages to go! I've tread a couple of Agatha Christie comfort reads: Funerals Are Fatal and Peril At End House. I did read Jenn's next book,Word to the Wise, which I loved. And I am about to read Kate Quinn's The Huntress because it sounded so fabulous when I was on a panel with her. Once that first draft is done there will be binge and catch up reading!
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yes--I just read for the Edgar best first, and that took a lot of time! SO pleased with the choices, though. And frustrating that I can't discuss! But books I can happily and delightedly recommend The brilliant Sophie Hannah's brilliant :-) THE NEXT TO DIE--complex and beautifully structured and surprising and so quirkily funny. And actually even inspirational. She's a whiz at incredible dialogue--I mean, astonishing. I know I am being inarticulate, but it's wonderful. I'm also reading her new Poirot, which is going to be great. And the incredibly fabulous Carol Goodman, I am now in a total binge, reading THE OTHER MOTHER and THE WIDOWS HOUSE (one book upstairs and one book down) and then I am going to read every single word she's ever written or will write.
And in non-fiction, the riveting RED NOTICE by Bill Browder about the rise of the Russian oligarchs. Amazing. Terrifying. And oh, Katy Tur's UNBELIEVABLE, about when she covered the 2016 presidential campaign. MUST READ, reds! (Also amazing and terrifying...)
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I just finished our Jenn McKinlay's upcoming WORD TO THE WISE which was such a treat! Great setting, wonderful characters! After that, the new Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novel, THE STONE CIRCLE. I'm such a fan that I ordered it from the UK--couldn't wait until it comes out in the US in May--and it was as good as expected. I love these characters so much, they are so human and real. Now I'm reading the new Peter Robinson Alan Banks novel, CARELESS LOVE, so enjoying Banks and Annie and the team and the Yorkshire moors. Up next on the nightstand, THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN by Stephanie Barron. And on my Kindle, Michelle Obama's book and THE ALICE NETWORK. I could go on and on but instead I'm going to look up THE ICE HOUSE:-)
HALLIE EPHRON: I've been reading books by two Icelandic noir authors -- Yrsa SigurdardÓttir and Ragnar Jonasson, boning up for meeting them and interviewing them about their writing for an event at the Scandinavian Cultural Center in Newton next week. We were in Iceland last year so there's something wonderfully familiar, reading their books. Familiar setting, fantastic prose and storytelling, and sooooo dark. Must be something in the water up there. I also just finished WORD TO THE WISE and my word to wise readers is you're in for a treat! My TBR pile is teetering.
LUCY: I really wish I could be at that panel, Hallie! Even though I say I don't prefer dark books, for some reason I love the Icelandic writers. Okay Reds, what are you reading? What should we not miss?
