Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve spent my life recreating myself as many times as Madonna. If things arenā€™t working, I move on to something new. Iā€™ll go to classes, learn something else, change careers, and struggle the whole way as I look for pieces of life that fit the puzzle of me. It takes me a lot longer to read so when I try to diversify my bookshelf and donā€™t always stick to my genre (as the professionals tell an author to do). What I ā€œstick toā€ is finding female characters who struggle and want to give up, but somehow, something deep inside them makes them move forward one step at a time.


I wrote

Full Body Manslaughter: A Farrah Wethers Mystery

By Elizabeth Amber Love, Thomas Boatwright (illustrator),

Book cover of Full Body Manslaughter: A Farrah Wethers Mystery

What is my book about?

Massage therapist Farrah Wethers and her best friend, June, book an event away from home at a serene lake resort.ā€¦

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Thyme of Death

Elizabeth Amber Love Why did I love this book?

The China Bayles series by Susan Wittig-Albert introduced me to characters who are brave without being superpowered.

China Bayles is a female protagonist who is strong-willed and intelligent. The stories about her never emphasize her looks other than describing things that would be overlooked on television.

Sheā€™s left her job as a Texas attorney and runs an herb shop (it expands in later books). Sheā€™s more likely to have dirt under her nails and sneakers on her feet rather than a fresh mani-pedi with stilettos for superhero-style espionage.

China is surrounded by a tight group of loved ones. These are characters that go through troubles. They support each other. The series gives middle-aged people something to embrace when typical pop culture never lets anyone age.

After reading some China Bayles stories, I noticed myself doing new things like planting small porch pots of pansies and herbs. With small steps come bigger steps. Trying to build a new life isnā€™t impossible with the right support system.

By Susan Wittig Albert,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Thyme of Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Nominated for both an Agatha and an Anthony Award, Susan Wittig Albert's novels featuring ex-lawyer and herb-shop proprietor China Bayles have won acclaim for their rich characterization and witty, suspenseful stories of crime and passion in small-town Texas.

Now, when China's friend Jo dies of an apparent suicide, China looks behind the quaint facade of Pecan Springs and takes a suspicious look at everyone. And though she finds lots of friendly faces, China is sure that one of them hides the heart of a killer.


Book cover of Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story

Elizabeth Amber Love Why did I love this book?

This isnā€™t a mystery, but Varina Palladinoā€™s Jersey Italian Love Story instantly became my new favorite book.

First of all, itā€™s close to home for me. Iā€™m a Jersey Girl and my grandmother married into an Italian family. The food, the colloquialisms, the (loud) holiday feasts ā€“ itā€™s all there.

This book has an interesting presentation as well. Each chapter begins with a few words of Jersey-Italian pidgin, traces the origins from Italian, and gives an example of how to use it properly.

Varina is a grandma who has worked herself to the bone running a gourmet food store even after her husband died. All she wants to do is take the little bit of money sheā€™s managed to save and take one vacation to France. Her mother, her kids, the grandkids ā€“ everyone always needs her for something. There is a happy ending and a beautiful epilogue.

By Terri-Lynne DeFino,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story is fun and funny, wonderfully exuberant, and incredibly wise. These endearing characters-their voices and stories- will be with me for a long time to come. I didn't want to say good-bye." -Jill McCorkle, New York Times bestselling author of Hieroglyphics

An utterly delightful and surprising family drama-think Moonstruck and My Big Fat Greek Wedding set in New Jersey-about a boisterous, complicated Italian family determined to help their widowed mother find a new boyfriend.

Lively widow Varina Paladino has lived in the same house in Wyldale, New Jersey, her entire life. The town might beā€¦


Ad

Book cover of From Famine to Fortune

From Famine to Fortune by Maurice Holloway,

1848. Ireland is starving in the middle of the Potato Famine. For many there seems to be only two choices ā€“ stay and die, or leave and survive. Families split up. A young potato-farming couple, Pat and Caitlin, evicted from their home in Mayo, decide to seek their fortunes beyondā€¦

Book cover of Like a Sister

Elizabeth Amber Love Why did I love this book?

Kellye Garrett takes the fake world of reality TV, hashtags, and influencers to circle her reluctant protagonist, Lena Scott. Life and actions are judged to only have value if you have video of it to get clicks. Thatā€™s the message that stuck with me.

Lena Scott and her sister Desiree may share a father, but they could not be more different. That father is hip-hop mogul Mel Pierce known in the business as Murder Mel. The family members are in and out of each otherā€™s lives with the same kinds of drama a blue-collar family would have; there are just bigger price tags. Lena steps out and opts for a modest life away from the family fortune and her fatherā€™s name.

When Desiree suddenly dies as a fallen from grace celebrity who appears to have overdosed, Lena doesnā€™t buy it. Even two years without speaking doesnā€™t erase how well she knows her sister.

By Kellye Garrett,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Like a Sister as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this "crackling domestic suspense" filled with "wry humor and deft pacing" (Alyssa Cole), no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found deadā€”except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.

ā€œA mystery that has everything I love most: an intriguing set up; an absorbing storyline that kept me guessing; a satisfying ending; and, most of all, incredibly well-developed characters I kept thinking about long after I finished the book.ā€ ā€•Jasmine Guillory, Today Show

ā€œI found out my sister was back in New Yorkā€¦


Book cover of Digging Up the Remains

Elizabeth Amber Love Why did I love this book?

Julia Henryā€™s third book in her Garden Squad Mysteries makes my list.

In Digging Up the Remains, Julia Henry brings readers a modern Jessica Fletcher with her character Lilly Jayne. Senior citizen Lilly is roommates with Delia, nearly forty years age difference! Somehow this works exquisitely for both of them. The rest of the characters span in age, but not in ethnicity, although there is small LGBT representation.

The theme of Digging Up the Remains is about secrets. The skeletons are in the closet so to speak.

Due to the contemporary setting this bookā€™s way of showing the status of the journalism business is accurate. Now the world favors unsubstantiated, high-traffic live feeds of the ā€œaverageā€ citizen hoping to get 15 minutes of fame and go viral. 

By Julia Henry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Digging Up the Remains as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A festive fall is in full swing in Goosebush, Massachusetts, but when a snoopy reporter is felled by foul play, it's up to Lilly and her Garden Squad to spook out a killer . . .

Between hosting a haunted house on her lawn, serving on the town's 400th Anniversary Planning Committee, and prepping for the Fall Festival's 10k fundraiser, Lilly's hands are full. She doesn't have time for prickly newspaper reporter Tyler Crane, who's been creeping around town, looking for dirt on Goosebush's most notable families . . . until he's found dead on the race route moments beforeā€¦


Ad

Book cover of The Map Colorist

The Map Colorist by Rebecca D'Harlingue,

In 1660, Amsterdam is the map-printing capital of the world. Anneke van Brug is a colorist, paid to enhance the black-and-white maps for the growing number of collectors. Her talent brings her to the attention of the great Joan Blaeu, owner of a prestigious publishing house. Not content to simplyā€¦

Book cover of Murder in G Major

Elizabeth Amber Love Why did I love this book?

Gethsemane Brown is a vibrant, ambitious, and brave. Sheā€™ll strike out anywhere in the world to be a Maestra as long as her life is filled with music.

The offers arenā€™t what she would like and takes a job in an Irish boysā€™ academy. The boys were rebellious (of course they are). The school wonā€™t support her recommendations. As the only black woman in the village (and an American), the entire town knew her business before she could even unpack her boxes.

Readers should be prepared for a touch of the paranormal here. Gethsemane lives in a haunted house. Despite this quirk, the mystery is completely grounded in the realism of the town, its people, the church, etc. 

By Alexia Gordon,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Murder in G Major as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ā€œThe captivating southwestern Irish countryside adds a delightful element to this paranormal series launch. Gethsemane is an appealing protagonist who is doing the best she can against overwhelming odds.ā€ ā€“ Library Journal (starred review) With few other options, African-American classical musician Gethsemane Brown accepts a less-than-ideal position turning a group of rowdy schoolboys into an award-winning orchestra. Stranded without luggage or money in the Irish countryside, she figures any job is better than none. The perk? Housesitting a lovely cliffside cottage. The catch? The ghost of the cottageā€™s murdered owner haunts the place. Falsely accused of killing his wife (andā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Full Body Manslaughter: A Farrah Wethers Mystery

By Elizabeth Amber Love, Thomas Boatwright (illustrator),

Book cover of Full Body Manslaughter: A Farrah Wethers Mystery

What is my book about?

Massage therapist Farrah Wethers and her best friend, June, book an event away from home at a serene lake resort. Or is it? A CEO is murdered and June is next in the killerā€™s crosshairs! Is danger lurking in every shadow or is Farrah being paranoid?

Book cover of Thyme of Death
Book cover of Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story
Book cover of Like a Sister

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,880

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

šŸ“š You might also likeā€¦

Book cover of Notes of Love and War

Notes of Love and War by Betty BoltƩ,

Set against the backdrop of the flourishing musical community during the 1940s in Baltimore, Notes of Love and War weaves together the pleasure of musical performance with the dangers of espionage and spying.

Audrey Harper needs more than home and hearth to satisfy her self-worth. Working as a music criticā€¦

Book cover of Suddenly that Summer

Suddenly that Summer by Lori Handeland,

Set during the same tumultuous era as The Women1967: They called it the Summer of Love...

For small-town Wisconsin siblings Billy and Jay Johnson, itā€™s a summer of change, confusion, and self-discovery. 

From the voice of New York Times bestselling author Lori Handeland, a heartfelt, coming-of-age story thatā€¦

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in murder, murder mystery, and criminal investigations?

Murder 1,082 books
Murder Mystery 569 books