Lynda Allen's debut mystery FLASHES OF INSIGHT hooked me from the beginning. I wish I could share more about the plot, but I don't want to give anything away about her ingenious way of creating and solving the puzzle. Just trust me when I say her originality and creativity is delightful! I can definitely share that Liv is a strong woman with a really creative voice. Be warned that this is a "Jersey" cozy, as Liv hails from there, and her perimenopausal self can take over with some strong language and hysterical comments. Personally I found her truly relatable. I also loved exploring the charming town and rich history of Fredericksburg, Virginia, making me want to head down there soon for a weekend trip. But even if you can't, you'll get a great vicarious trip.
Mood swings and insomnia are one thing, hot flash-induced psychic visions are quite another. When Olivia Wilde realizes the visions she's been experiencing in the midst of hot flashes are actually premonitions, she has to learn to understand and trust what she sees in order to help a friend, preserve a piece of history, and save a life.
Deftly weaving together elements of history, mystery, menopause, humor, some Jersey girl attitude, a bit of salty language, and a healthy dose of female friendship, Flashes of Insight marks the start of a new "Jersey Cozy"* series sure to deliver laughter, intelligence,…
I like books driven by characters who ride the same emotional rollercoaster as we all do in real life. Characters who love the wrong people or who lose the people they were right to love or who fail to match the norms expected by society. Characters I can empathise with, root for, and learn from. A fairytale happy ending is not necessary and can detract from the magic of a book. But I do like to be left with a feeling of hope. If a fictional character can learn to approach life more positively, then maybe I can too! This is what I try to achieve in my own books.
It takes courage to carry on living after an emotional catastrophe. Some of us never quite make it and others, like Masha inThe Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, get there with a little help from unexpected places.
This book made me both laugh and cry. It is poignant and emotional but also parades crazy, colourful characters such as eccentric Elvis and Sally Red Shoes herself. This character of the book’s title has a relatively small but important part in the book, bursting into Masha’s life during her regular meanders in a Victorian graveyard.
Ruth Hogan, the international bestselling author behind the The Keeper of Lost Things returns with an irresistible novel of unexpected friendships, second chances—and dark secrets...
They say friends make life worth living...
Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, Masha's life was forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Unable to let go of her grief, she finds comfort in her faithful canine companion Haizum, and peace in the quiet lanes of her town's swimming pool. Almost without her realizing it, her life has shuddered to a halt.
It’s only when Masha begins an unlikely friendship…
My day job is teaching U.S. history, particularly courses on urban history, social movements, and race and gender. It is women’s experiences in cities, however, that have driven much of my historical research and sparked my curiosity about how people understand–and shape–the world around them. Lots of people talk about what women need and what they should be doing, but fewer have been willing to hear what women have to say about their own lives and recognize their resiliency. I hope that this kind of listening to the past will help us build more inclusive cities in the future.
In this book, Lisa See drops us into the lives of three young women of Asian descent who were fighting to make their way in a city and society that saw them as “dolls” rather than people. The friendship at the heart of the novel is compelling, but I am equally impressed by See’s historical research.
She weaves her fictional characters through real events, people, places, and cultures. I often shy away from “historical fiction” as a genre, cringing at the license some authors take with the history side of things, but See is an excellent social historian and storyteller. I loved this opportunity to visit World War II America, the entertainment industry, and, most especially, San Francisco’s Chinatown through the eyes of these women.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A fascinating portrait of life as a Chinese American woman in the 1930s and ’40s.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Superb . . . This emotional, informative and brilliant page-turner resonates with resilience and humanity.”—The Washington Post (One of the Best Books of the Year)
San Francisco, 1938: A world’s fair is preparing to open on Treasure Island, a war is brewing overseas, and the city is alive with possibilities. Talented Grace, traditional Helen, and defiant Ruby, three young women from very different backgrounds, meet by chance at the exclusive and glamorous Forbidden City nightclub.…
As a Chicago native, the Great Lakes area is part of my identity. My family spent summers in Michigan and, one year even went up to Sault St. Marie on the border between Michigan and Canada to spend a week on Lake Superior. A knitting retreat in Petosky was another Michigan adventure I enjoyed. The idea of writing about Northern Michigan turned out to be a fascinating exploration of an area I barely knew. And I’ve been able to meet other writers from there and enjoy their varied mysteries set in the region. From Minnesota to Ohio, I hope you enjoy the many faces of the Great Lakes.
Best Kept Secrets by Great Lakes author Tracey Phillips is a psychological mystery set in and around Indianapolis, Indiana. When I met Tracey at the Writers’ Police Academy in Appleton, Wisconsin, we ended hung out together and became fast friends. We bought each other’s books. And became fans.
Morgan Jewell is a homicide cop with a dark secret. Her best friend, Fay, was murdered years ago and Morgan, who can barely remember what happened that night, worries that she was somehow to blame. Now, as other bodies start surfacing, Morgan and her partner try to piece together the puzzle that might lead to catching a serial killer and resolve the mystery of Fay’s death. The twists and turns and the breakneck pace meant I could hardly put it down.
Even their deepest, darkest secrets--pinky promise.
Right?
Morgan Jewell and Fay Ramsey are enjoying their last summer together before college. Fay is shy, with a controlling mother, and Morgan is the perfect, wild, loud-mouthed yang to Fay's yin. But when Fay is found dead, Morgan's entire world crumbles.
Years later, Morgan is still haunted by the abrupt end to her best friend's life. She knew Fay held a secret in those final days, but Morgan, now a homicide detective, has failed to make a picture out of the crooked puzzle pieces she left behind.…
I am a lover of all things Irish because of my heritage, with my maiden name O’Shea. Both of my parents’ grandparents came from Ireland to the United States: the O’Sheas from County Kerry and the Ward and Sullivans from Galway and Bantry. As an English major, I have loved the works of Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and I wrote my Master’s thesis on Ulysses by Joyce. Both of my own novels center around the Irish. I understand their love/hate relationship with the Catholic Church, and I love the stinging wit and lively humor of the people. The Irish are great storytellers!
Edna O’Brien’s work makes me laugh and cry at the same time!
The Country Girls is a rollicking tale of two girls from rural Ireland in the 1950s, convent-educated, who leave home after their secondary school graduation to seek freedom and fun in the big city of Dublin.
Not quite Sex in the City, but a reader will laugh with the girls and sympathize with their troubles with men and work.
The BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Edna O'Brien's The Country Girls trilogy begins in August 2019.
Edna O'Brien's wonderful, wild and moving novel shocked the nation on its publication in 1960. Adapted for the stage by the author, The Country Girls, the play, is a highly theatrical and free-flowing telling of this classic coming of age story.
This new edition of The Country Girls was published to coincide with its UK premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre in June 2017.
Edna O'Brien's stunning new novel Girl will be published by Faber in September 2019, available to pre-order now.
I can't be the only one to see men with power manipulate their status to hold back others. This isn’t just a Hollywood thing. A Sunday supplement piece by a young gay actor about his troubled life with a leading director struck a chord. Fate led me to him, and he connected me with others who shared off-the-record stories of exploitation and ambition. I wanted to tell these tales but not launch yet another bad news book into an already battered world. I aimed to create something accessible and engaging, darkly funny while shining a light on Hollywood's underbelly.
After 608 days, Maggie is single again and almost 30–two things that give cause for concern and reflection. Thankfully, Maggie takes no blame for either thing happening and plows on, determined to find the pearl in the gritty oyster her life has become.
I laughed, but I also found myself filled with sad recognition of how we all too often set goals we’ll never score, only to find that halfway home is where the heart is.
The No. 2 SUNDAY TIMES Bestseller
An Observer Best Debut of the Year
'Intoxicating ... heralds a really good author to watch' The Times
'Hilarious and profound' Dolly Alderton, author of Everything I Know About Love
'Wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable' Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel
'Monica Heisey is a genius' Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful
One of the most hotly anticipated, hilarious and addictive debut novels of 2023, from Schitt's Creek and Workin' Moms screenwriter and electric new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey.
I feel like when you get a divorce everyone's wondering how…
My father was transferred to Southern California from Charlotte, North Carolina when I was fourteen years old. I was excited and my friends were jealous. At that point, all I knew about California was the music of the Beach Boys and the Gidget television series. I thought everyone lived on the beach and knew movie stars. I didn’t know there were neighborhoods like Reseda and Anaheim and Fountain Valley, places where people live lives that have nothing to do with the glamour and celebrity of Hollywood. California has been my home for more than fifty years. I still find it fascinating and puzzling, and I still feel like an outsider.
Stacy Russo is a librarian, professor, artist, poet, novelist, children’s book writer, vegan baker, punk rock historian, dog whisperer, and a friend. Her novel told in stories is a close observation of modern life in Santa Ana, California where her protagonist, Stella Peabody runs a bakery and bookstore. The lives of her customers intertwine and create an enviably close community. The sense of place is vivid, and the characters are finely drawn. I wish this bookstore was real and in my neighborhood. Recipes included.
Welcome to the magical world of Stella Peabody's Wild Librarian Bakery and Bookstore!
Stella Peabody, an independent and free-spirited "Wild Librarian," follows her dream and opens a vegan bakery/bookstore where she and her literary-inspired baked goods form the heart of a diverse community full of beloved characters, including Robert Gonzales, a romance novel devotee and loving husband, who finds solace in Stella's "Poet's Beer Bread" when his wife goes missing under mysterious circumstances; solitary psychologist Mary Chin who leans upon her experiences with Stella's "Women Who Run With the Wolves" Book Club to find comfort and meaning following a life-changing…
I grew up in a small, rural community that is perhaps best defined by cold, grey, rainy days – perfect reading weather. I developed an interest in learning about different places and cultures through books. Then I started traveling and my interest turned into a passion, that transformed my educational journey. I completed a Masters and PhD in Anthropology and did my field research for my degree in Australia and Nepal. I still love to learn about new cultures, though the children have meant less traveling and more adventuring via books!
The third book is possibly one of the shortest standalone books I have read, but also one of the most powerful.
Toni Morrison’s post-humous work Recitatif is the story of two poor girls, one white and one black, living in a shelter and their lives as adults. They share their past experiences, and unfortunately both witness a disturbing incident while wards of the state.
This book makes my list for best books about cross-cultural interactions because the reader doesn’t know which girl is black and which is white. It unsettles the reader and forces self-reflection, why am I trying to determine the race of these girls and what does that reflect about my own culture?
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A beautiful, arresting story about race and the relationships that shape us through life by the legendary Nobel Prize winner—for the first time in a beautifully produced stand-alone edition, with an introduction by Zadie Smith
“A puzzle of a story, then—a game.... When [Morrison] called Recitatif an ‘experiment’ she meant it. The subject of the experiment is the reader.” —Zadie Smith, award-winning, best-selling author of White Teeth
In this 1983 short story—the only short story Morrison ever wrote—we meet Twyla and Roberta, who have known each other since they were eight years old and…
When I say I enjoy stories of ordinary people in extraordinary situations, I’m talking about characters who don’t have law enforcement or Special Forces training, who aren’t martial arts experts, KGB agents, or CIA officers. I like those characters too, but they typically engage my head, not my heart. Thrown into dangerous situations, “ordinary” individuals can show tremendous courage and quick-wittedness. I can easily put myself in their shoes and empathize with their plight, which gives me a real stake in the story’s outcome. If a story is well-written, the creative ways characters respond and the strengths they discover within themselves make them true heroes to me.
This jigsaw puzzle of a psychological thriller involves a world-class con artist. So, so cleverly done. I didn’t put all the pieces together until the very end, which took my breath away, literally! Most of the story is told via the diary of a naïve college dropout, who wants desperately to work for a fashion magazine. She wangles an internship with an important publication and reveals to the diary her growing admiration for one of the mag’s high-living senior editors. Memoranda and phone messages of other people reveal the authorities are suspicious of the editor, as the intern works merrily on. I wanted her to wake up! I unsuccessfully tried to telepathically communicate the danger signs to her, but no.
Netflix's Inventing Anna and Hulu's The Dropout meets Catch Me If You Can in this captivating novel about an ambitious young woman who gets trapped in a charismatic con artist's scam.
A Most Anticipated Book by Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, Parade, New York Post, Shondaland, E!, Fortune, PopSugar, and more!
"It's exciting, it's surprising, it's satisfying, it's darkly funny, and it will keep you guessing."-Linda Holmes for Today.com
After a rough year at NYU, aspiring writer Lora Ricci is thrilled to land a summer internship at ELLE magazine where she meets Cat Wolff, contributing editor and enigmatic daughter of a…
I’m an author and a romantic. Put the two together and it makes sense for me to write love stories. I’ve always been interested in relationships and fascinated by how complex our feelings make us when we fall in love. There’s a love story in all my books, but for the last three novels, a love story has been thestory. I’m a Londoner too, and I like it when a city becomes another character in a book, as I hope London has in The Central Line.
I fell in love with this beautifully written book about female friendship, set-in modern-day London. The opening shows us three young women lounging in London Fields one summer, all of them filled with an indisputable sense that they are on the brink of life, their horizons lit up with promise. Ten years later, those promises have failed to materialize. The characters are confused, struggling, and envious of what each of the others has. All three are strong, flawed characters, and their lives, choices, and mistakes feel very real and poignant.
THE MUST-READ SUMMER 2020 RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK
'If you wished Normal People had tackled female friendship, try Expectation' GRAZIA 'Profoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist' GUARDIAN 'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES ______________________
What happened to the women we were supposed to become?
Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry - and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They…
