In Eleanor Shearer's remarkable debut, River Sing Me home, the author takes her reader into territory not often addressed: a mother in search of the children stolen from her through the ravages of slavery. Moving from Barbados to Trinidad, we follow Rachel as she searches, exploring themes along the way of not only slavery but also love, freedom, and colonialism. The the writing is lyrical and emotional, the characters fully fleshed-out and real. This one is a keeper, folks.

If you are in the mood for a fun, light read that engages from the first page, why not give "Some of It Was Real" by Nan Fischer a try? When Sylvie, a young up-and-coming psychic who nevertheless doubts her gifts, collides with Thomas, a cynical newspaper reporter out to discredit her, they begin a journey that will illuminate the past and the secrets that lurk there. As they each confront their dark places they discover long buried secrets and explore the meaning of love, especially familial love, along with other topics like religion thrown in for good measure. There are a couple of bodice ripping instances so you may want to skip the steamy scenes if that is not your thing. Through it all Sylvie attempts to prove to Thomas - and to herself - that her psychic abilities are real. The real question, however, is can she convince you, her reader?

A fast-paced police procedural, "The Fields" grabbed me from the first page. I enjoyed the story line, the well-developed characters, and the convoluted plot, which was nicely tied up in the book's final pages. While many of today's hot-button issues are woven into the plot, including big agriculture, politics, global warming, and the Me Too movement, the author doesn't let her opinions bog the story down; she is able to educate without being preachy. Well-read readers will find a couple of stereotypes, however, the book still has broad appeal.

I don't want to give away too much (by comparing it to another well-known book) but readers who are turned-off by gore may want to choose another book. As for me, I found the last 25 or so of the book to be really exciting! Sign me up for the next one in the series!

An easy and enjoyable read, "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is the story of Belle da Costa Greene, the woman who becomes the librarian largely given credit for amassing J. P. Morgan's fabulous collection of books, rare manuscripts, and artwork for the Pierpont Morgan Library. In doing so she carved-out a powerful place for herself in the art world, all the more remarkable because Belle hides a dangerous secret. Telling the story from a first person POV and set mostly in New York City, the authors take the reader along on Belle's adventures through the restrictive mores and culture of the early part of the twentieth century as Belle describes some of the delicious artworks collected in the library.

Two minor complaints: I would have liked to learn more about the process Belle used to suss out and assess the value of those artworks; also, early in her work with Morgan, Belle seems to have a higher opinion of herself that I would have thought, given her circumstances, but both of these are minor quibbles. From the first page I knew I would enjoy Belle's story - and I did!

"Piranesi," Susanna Clarke's ethereal new novel is quite different from her previous novel, "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell." Although both books tell unusual stories, "Piranesi" is set in an alternate reality, a dream-world, and features an unreliable narrator and a mystery. Ultimately, while I enjoyed Clarke's first book, her new book is not for me. I prefer real people with real world problems, however, readers who enjoy fantasy will undoubtedly enjoy this well-written novel.

I really enjoyed The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls by Ursula Hegi! At first I was a bit put off because it is a bit hard to get into, but once in I was hooked. There is a lot of grief here, but as in life, it is the grief that creates meaning and growth. And boy do the three main characters grow! Hegi's writing style in this novel is somewhat different than Stones from the River as she writes in simple thoughts or blurbs, leaving it to the reader to think and connect the dots, so if you like everything explained to you, you will not care for this book. On the other hand, if you are a careful reader into a beautiful story of intergenerational women and their bonds, you too will enjoy this story.

From the very first page, the suspense created in The Lost Man by Jane Harper, drew me in, and carefully crafted clues dropped like breadcrumbs kept me turning the pages. Harper is a great storyteller, so I also enjoyed her other two books, but somehow this one resonated more with me. The story is about a dead man, his family, and secrets well-kept. Told from the POV of Nathan, the titular lost man, the storyline flows just right, the characters, including the Australian Outback, are realistic, and the ending is believable and very satisfying. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful tale, well told.

That the book would benefit from a good editor is my only caveat. Thankfully, sentences like, "It was pitch black out there now. Above, Nathan could already make out the first few stars," are few: stars do not "come out" – they are there to see when it is dark enough. Perhaps that is also true of family secrets.

"The Chalk Man" by C.J. Tudor is an engrossing tale of mystery (and like all good mystery novels, several mysteries are involved in the plot) and psychological suspense that grabbed me from the get-go. It would be a stretch, however, to term it a literary novel. While some of the writing is really good, it is often uneven, and some of the metaphors do not make sense (maybe because of the cultural differences between the US and the UK?). Nevertheless, it reminds me a Stephen King novel: eerie, kinda spooky, with several well-defined characters, and it would appeal to his audience. The author does a great job of tying everything together at the end to draw a satisfying - and surprising! - conclusion. Although I listen to mysteries, it is not the type of book I usually read, preferring instead good literature. Still, I enjoyed the book and would recommend for those looking for a light, yet gripping read.

I really wanted to like "Since She Went Away" by David Bell, but unfortunately, it just didn't appeal to me, despite its promise of being a page-turner. (It probably didn't help that I had just finished reading "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" before beginning this one.) In fact, I found it hard to keep turning the pages at all. The characters were tedious and while the writing tried to hard to be literary, it was not, so the writing was tedious also. Yes, I get that Jenna felt responsible for Celia's disappearance; no need to hammer the reader with her guilt. No, I don't buy her response to her son's reaction when she finds him (at 15) in bed with a girl. I could go on, but I'll spare you: skip this one.

The blurb about "Bitter River" by Julia Keller held such premise that I eagerly awaited my advance copy. A voracious reader, I prefer literary novels but read cereal boxes if one is placed in front of me, and unfortunately, this book reads no better than that provided by my morning Cheerios.

The main story centers on solving the murder of a teenage girl in rural Appalachia; two sub-plots bring more depth to the main character. While the characters were very human and the setting a part of the story, too much of the writing feels forced to me, the author trying too hard. Many of her metaphors miss their mark ("Her hair was the color of a dirty Q-tip" – ewe!), deus ex machina carries one of the sub-plots, and the ending is contrived, neatly tying up all three story lines. In the climax of one of the sub-plots, the main character, a woman lawyer, knowingly goes unarmed and alone to a house where someone is firing an assault weapon – really? I get it that Bell is a tough broad, but ultimately her story is not worth my time.

I really enjoyed this book from one of my favorite "guilty pleasures" authors. Continuing the family saga that began with "The Given Day," Lehane gives readers a rip-roaring story of love, loss, betrayal, and redemption, featuring violent thugs, hapless immigrants, crooked cops, and good-guy gangsters that will have you pulling for the guys in the black fedoras . Although the story-line pulled me in, it is the excellent writing that kept me turning the pages. As always, Lehane's writing is well-researched and spot-on with vivid descriptions and vibrant characters. I had read the first book in the series but that is not necessary to thoroughly enjoy "Live by Night," and I much prefer this chronicle of America during the Prohibition era to Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro series. A wonderfully enjoyable read!

While I wanted to love The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman, in the end, I found it to be somewhat less than satisfying. Afraid of spoilers, I don’t want to say too much - you can get a synopsis of the storyline from the book jacket - but it involves five friends, their parents, and the power of a lie in which all are complicit.

Lippman is a good writer and in keeping with the literary aspect of the book, the characters are well-developed and change over the course of the story, which is told from various POV, but I found the mysterious “we” voice, wherein the reader is one of the characters, confusing and misleading. In the end, I found I just didn’t care about the mystery; Lippman worked too hard to keep it a secret.