Liars by Sarah Manguso is a very highly recommended scathing portrait of a marriage. Due to the brutally honesty revelations of the relationship Liars is not an easy novel to read and for some readers it will bring up painful memories or experiences.

Jane, a writer, meets John Bridge, a filmmaker, and the two fall in love, marry, and plan to continue to both have fulfilling, creative lives. When their child is born, Jane is thrilled, but is also thrust into the role of main caretaker, and cleaner, while John is often absent, doing what he wants. She is now a wife and mother whose life is overtaken by John’s ambitions, whims, and ego. Jane says, "I was in charge of everything and in control of nothing." John frequently moves them all across the country as he pursues new jobs, another form of control, while never admitting to any mistakes.

Jane tries to keep her writing and marriage going throughout all the upheavals. Her health suffers, both physical and mental. She says something that many women face, "My time, which is to say the time that was mine, for me alone, had disappeared. And at once I understood why I hadn't felt like myself in years. My own time - my own life - had disappeared, been overtaken." The novel follows their 14 year relationship. Readers know John will be divorcing her. It is clear from the start. Jane is the narrator of the story and includes within her account, her personal writing about the issues in her marriage and how marriage can make liars of us.

Honestly, this is an impeccably written but an emotionally draining novel to read, especially if you have experienced some of the same things Jane did. I appreciate Manguso naming her main characters John and Jane, common names, and having the child simply be the child. Many readers will be projecting themselves and their personal experiences into the lives of the characters. I saved many quotes from Liars, including this true fact: "He said that the clearest indication of cheating was contempt on the part of the cheating spouse."

Liars is presented as fiction, but while reading it does not feel like fiction. It feels like a realistic, raw memoir about a failing marriage. Thanks to Random House/Hogarth for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

All This and More by Peng Shepherd is a very highly recommended unique version of a Choose Your Own Adventure story, only this time it is to choose, or rather revise, your life.

Marsh has just turned forty-five and feels as if she has missed her chance at fulfillment in every area of her life. She can't believe it when she is selected to be a contestant on season 3 of the show All This and More. The show uses quantum technology, a time bubble, to allow contestants the chance to revise their pasts and change their present lives. This is Marsh's chance to seize her chance to get it all right and have the life she always wanted. As she tries on being successful in different occupations Marsh begins to realize that something is not quite right with All This and More.

This is a very creative, imaginative novel and the writing is incredible, characteristics I expect from any novel Peng Shepherd writes. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I am good with the reality TV show plot mixed with science fiction. My only hesitation is the Choose Your Own Adventure aspect. My kids were fans of these kind of novels years ago, however I never grew up with them so the idea has no nostalgia for me. The plot had to stand on what I choose.

The different realities Marsh encounters were well done and the glitches she begins to notice are seamlessly incorporated into the various narrative choices. I liked the science fiction aspect to the narrative, the idea of jumps to different realities is clever, but maybe not so much the choose what to do next while reading.

Admittedly, I did choose what I sincerely wanted to see next, so my experience was a mix of the two options. It might be interesting to read it straight through without choices to see if it changes my feelings. 4.5 rounded up. Thanks to William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Night the River Wept by Lo Patrick is a very highly recommended small town Southern murder mystery with a very unlikely investigator.

Arlene, 24, is married to her high school sweetheart, Tommy, and longs to be a mother. The two live in Faber, a small town in Georgia, where Tommy, is in commercial real estate, but does well enough that he is often called a real estate tycoon in town. Tommy loves Arlene and wants the best for her but he also has a drinking problem. After a miscarriage she needs to find a way to keep busy so she applies for a job at the police station and is offered a part time position bagging evidence. Since the job only takes about 20 minutes of work a day, Arlene begins to read the old case files.

One case in particular, the murder of three young brothers on Deck River, an area populated by those with little hope, captures her attention. The murder was followed by the suicide of the main suspect, Mitchell Wright. Arlene gets permission to look into the case and soon believes she could solve the case. Tommy is getting on her nerves with his drinking anyway and the cold case becomes an obsession. She sets out to discover the truth with help from Allaina, who was on the police force at that time, and Ronna, the police department's receptionist.

I really enjoyed The Night the River Wept and I realize I'm a bit of an outlier in how much I enjoyed it. It is a beautifully written novel and captures both a unique, charming Southern setting as the characters deal with personal struggles,loss, growth and redemption while uncovering the truth. The narrative unfolds through the point-of-view of Arlene, diary entries written by Mitchell's sister, and the murderer. Arlene is the main, dominant voice.

I appreciated the humorous dialog and observations throughout the novel. The bulk of the novel is full of grim insightful and poignant moments in the narrative, but interspersed are gems that left me laughing several times while reading. Patrick captured the dialect of her characters in the dialogue and I could hear them talking as I read. And the stories... like the daughter who left the lineman she was married to, which disappointed her mother because she is a Glen Campbell fan.

Arlene is certainly a flawed character, but, bless her heart, I like her. She's young and she's blaming herself for her miscarriage. Her dream of being a mother has been shattered and seems unobtainable. Arlene is insecure and searching for an adult role model/friend. It is funny and a bit heartbreaking when she attaches herself to Ronna, a woman who has her own issues, and closely follows her behavior in an attempt to be an adult. This includes bringing leftover meatloaf for lunch. She's also dealing with a husband who's frequently drunk by noon. Looking into the cold case gives her a purpose and confidence in herself.

The novel is populated with unique, memorable characters. Arlene is earnest in her role as detective as she looks into the cold case. The investigation into the murder mystery is serious. The small town never really dug deep and tried to truly solve the case. People kept secrets.Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard is a recommended literary domestic drama and a sequel to her 2021 novel Count the Ways. This character driven novel returns to the story of Eleanor and her family through fifteen years (2010 to 2024). Fifty-four-year-old Eleanor has moved from Brookline back to the New Hampshire family farm to care for their brain-injured son, Toby, now an adult. This continuation of the original story and documents Eleanor's relationship with her family and her struggles with the societal changes around her.

As expected the writing is excellent, the characters are fully realized, and the complex story of a family is presented. I loved Count the Ways and was looking forward to revisiting Eleanor and the music she is listening to as events unfold. Alas, I didn't enjoy How the Light Gets In as much as Count the Ways. There was too much reiterating of past events at the beginning of the novel. This is a plus if you didn't read Count the Ways or if are many years between reading the two novels and you need a reminder of what happened previously. It becomes a negative to spend so much time covering past events for a novel just published in 2021. The second negative was the insertion of every recent divisive political or societal event that has recently occurred. I have cautioned more than one author recently to keep their personal views and editorializing on contemporary social/political topics to themselves and out of books as it diminishes the novel. Thanks to William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker is a brilliant literary epic drama spanning decades and genres. This exceptional, very highly recommended novel is certainly one of the best novels of 2024. If you loved Whitaker's We Begin at the End (2020) then please read All the Colors of the Dark.

It is 1975 in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, where Saint Brown and her best friend Joseph “Patch” Macauley are best friends. Saint, whose parents are both deceased, lives with her grandmother and keeps bees. Patch was born with one eye, thus the nickname and his love of all things pirate related. He lives with his neglectful single mother. When Patch sees a man attacking Misty, a popular girl from school, he steps in to stop it. Misty escapes but Patch is captured instead and held captive in a dark basement for many months.

Saint is determined to find her best friend and never loses hope, always seeking clues about his whereabouts. Her dogged persistence and tenacity is never-ending. While captive in the total darkness of the basement, Patch meets a girl, Grace, who tells him stories from places across the country and keeps him safe. Grace gives Patch hope and a reason to survive.

And this is just a very brief taste of what awaits you when reading All the Colors of the Dark.

What follows is a glorious, heartbreaking literary saga that covers 1975 to 2001. It is an in-depth character study that merges together, in part, as a domestic drama, a coming-of-age tale, a missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a story of obsession, and a love story, a prison drama, and more. The short chapters are from the point-of-view of Saint or Patch. Once I started reading All the Colors of the Dark I was totally immersed in the believable and heartrending world Whitaker paints. It is a long novel, but was impossible to put down.

The writing is eloquent, descriptive, poignant, and the final result is simply a masterpiece. Whitaker is such a gifted writer! All of his characters come to life as fully realized individuals with strengths and flaws. I felt like I intimately knew all of the characters and their story will continue to resonate with me for years. Bravo, Chris Whitaker - All the Colors of the Dark is a masterpiece of literature. Thanks to Crown Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

A Fatal Inheritance: How a Family Misfortune Revealed a Deadly Medical Mystery by Lawrence Ingrassia is a very highly recommended deeply personal memoir of a family's medical tragedies merged with a medical thriller of cancer research as scientists work to discover answers.

Lawrence Ingrassia's family story is one where death from cancer is prevalent. In his family Ingrassia lost his mother, two sisters, brother, and nephew to different kinds of cancer at different points in their lives. In the 1960s his family became one of several that intrigued Dr. Frederick Pei Li and Dr. Joseph Fraumeni Jr. in their research into why some families experienced so many deaths by cancer. They began collecting records and analyzing data to understand cancer clusters in some families.

They published their results in a paper which showed that there was likely a genetic component involved and this discovery was named the Li–Fraumani Syndrome. Their paper was first published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and wasn't widely known. Later genetic researchers were intrigued by the syndrome and with help from Li and Fraumani and the samples they collected from families they were able to discover a mutation in the p53 gene. This inherited mutation is responsible for the higher risk of cancer. Its discovery was groundbreaking in cancer research and offers hope for potential future research.

Ingassia does an excellent job sharing his family's and others deeply personal and emotional stories while also covering how the cancer research of Li and Fraumeni’s and others evolved. The merging of the personal tragedies with the ground breaking discoveries work well together and help create a tension and anticipation for some hopeful discovery for a future cure. The question of genetic research in regards to ethical considerations and personal privacy is also considered. Thanks to Henry Holt & Company for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson is a highly recommended in-depth look at the months between Lincoln’s November 1860 election and the surrender of Fort Sumter which lead up to the Civil War.

Larson brings to bear his penchant for presenting extensive historical research in a vivid, compelling manner in the telling the story of a deeply divided nation and the events leading up to the start of the Civil War. "At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable—one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans."

For those who enjoy any and all historical accounts surrounding the Civil War, The Demon of Unrest will be a welcomed addition to your library. This has been hailed as one of the most anticipated books of the year. Personally, ever since I read Isaac's Storm, still a favorite, reading any new Eric Larson book is a necessity. The presentation was compelling and the research is extensive, but I'll sheepishly admit I wanted the narrative to move along just a little bit faster. However, I know several Civil War buffs who will revel in the details.

In the opening Larson does write, “I was well into my research on the saga of Fort Sumter and the advent of the American Civil War when the events of January 6, 2021, took place.” Rather than be so specific and pinning the current ideological divisions on one day, it might have behooved him to simply say that turmoil and division between Americans is present again. Thanks to Crown Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Extinction by Douglas Preston combines a compelling murder mystery and cutting-edge science in a Michael Crichton-esque plot. This excellent mind-blowing thriller is very highly recommended. One of the best!

The exclusive Erebus Resort is located in a hundred-thousand acre valley of in the mountains of Colorado. Through genetic manipulation Erebus specializes in the "de-extinction" of Pleistocene megafauna, like woolly mammoths, giant ground sloths, Irish Elk, giant armadillos, and the indricothere. These prehistoric animals have had their genes for aggression removed for the safety of the visitors at the resort. For their honeymoon Mark and Olivia Gunnerson go backpacking at Erebus to see the prehistoric animals there and then disappear in the night.

County Sheriff James Colcord notes the obvious attack on the couple left behind a copious amount of blood but no bodies, so Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances (Frankie) Cash is called in to track down the perpetrators. Since Mark is the son of a wealthy billionaire, the first assumption is a gang of eco-terrorists are trying to send a message about the resort.

This is a gripping murder mystery full of extinct creatures, perpetual tension, breathtaking twists, and shocking developments that gallops at a heart-stopping pace. Once you start reading the ingenious narrative you will not want to stop until you reach the unpredictable, stunning final denouement. Once the plot took off, I was following in what ever direction Preston led me. I kept trying to predict what was going to happen and was surprised at every turn.

What made Extinction even better (if that were possible) are the variety of fully realized characters and personalities that populate the novel. Frankie and Colcord are great characters and the interaction between the two is appealing even when they seemingly clash. All the supporting characters are presented as unique individuals and you will easily distinguish between them while reading as fast as possible to see what in the world is going to happen next.

Additionally, much like Crichton, Preston has done his research and knows the science behind the direction his plot takes. At the end of the novel Preston shares the real science and the direction it is taking right now. Great characters, action-packed plot, and expert plotting and pacing make this one of the best novels of the year. Thanks to Forge Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda follows a daughter returning to her dysfunctional family after the death of her father. It is an exceptional, very highly recommended psychological family drama/murder mystery. Daughter of Mine is another excellent, un-put-downable thriller by Megan Miranda.

After leaving a decade earlier, Hazel Sharp returns home to the small town of Mirror Lake, North Carolina, for her father, longtime police officer Detective Perry Holt's, memorial. As the family, her brothers, Caden and Gage and her Uncle Roy, hold the memorial, across the lake a car is being pulled out of the water. A long running drought has lowered the water level at the lake, leading to the discovery of a submerged car. The mystery of the car disturbs Hazel, as her mother disappeared years ago. Even so, after the memorial Hazel was planning to return to Charlotte where she has a building-renovation business, but then she learns she has inherited the house and her brothers have planned to go through it, so she quickly returns. That's when another vehicle is found submerged in the water behind the house.

The tension is high and suspicions are rampant in the atmospheric mystery Daughter of Mine, perhaps Miranda's best novel to date - which is saying a lot. There are several mysteries occurring in the plot. New mysteries include the disappearance of Caden's wife, Jamie, why Hazel inherited the house, and odd occurrences happening in the house. Old mysteries involve the disappearance of Hazel's mom, the two cars pulled from the lake and the clues people seem to be giving Hazel without actually saying anything. The small town, where people have been around for generations and know everything about you and your family plays a major role in the narrative. The ongoing drought is also a noteworthy part of the novel and each chapter opens with how many days it has been since it rained.

Hazel is a fully realized character and immediately a sympathetic one. You will know her mother left her with just a simple note and that Perry Holt cared for her like a father. The sibling rivalry between Hazel and Caden is evident and Gage, as the older brother, also has a preset role in the family dynamics. There are doubts and uncertainty about the strange things happening and Hazel is unsure who can be trusted to help her or give her honest answers.

The writing is extraordinary. The scenes are all perfectly described and place you firmly in the scene. The tension and family dynamics work together to create a heightened sense of caution and even alarm. Secrets abound and I had all sorts of guesses and suppositions about what was happening along the way, but my guesses weren't even close. The final denouement is phenomenal. Thanks to Simon Element for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

After Annie by Anna Quindlen is an outstanding breathtaking and heartbreaking depiction of a family dealing with the untimely death of a wife and mother over the span of a year. It is a very highly recommended, exceptional literary family drama and not to be missed. One of the best. I loved this book.

When Annie Brown, 37, dies suddenly, she leaves behind her husband Bill, who is a plumber, and four children Ali (Alexandra)13, Ant (Anthony) 11, Benjy (Benjamin) 8, and James 6. She also leaves behind her best friend since childhood, Annemarie. No one knows how they can move forward without Annie. Bill is overwhelmed and forfeits much of his parental responsibility to Ali, who tries to step up and care for everyone as best she can. Ali carries the weight and tries to keep her family going. Ant is angry and acting out, Benjy begins wetting the bed, and James thinks his mom will still be coming home. Annemarie, a recovering addict due to Annie's help, is struggling with staying clean and sober.

Quindlen is an extraordinary writer who can deftly handle the subject matter accurately and with compassion. Anyone who has had an untimely death in their family will understand the emotional struggles this family is going through while trying to keep living their day to day lives. It is a deeply moving, emotionally charged story. Even when it seems not a lot of action is going on in the plot, those who have experienced this will know moving on after a death is like climbing a mountain every day. It is exhausting and overwhelming.

The narrative is broken up into seasons, winter, spring, summer, and autumn, and explores the inner life and practicalities of how each character is handling the loss of a person who held them all together. The characters are portrayed as fully-realized, complex, and realistic individuals who are trying to continue living. Annie is present in their thoughts and her backstory is told through them. The story is primarily told through Bill, Annmarie, and Ali. They are all faced with imagining life without Annie when she was a central part of their lives.

Be prepared to cry as the characters learn to live life without someone they loved. Yes, it is very sad, but there is hope in their memories as well as their struggles. This is a very emotionally satisfying story. It is okay and good to grieve those you love. Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is an exceptional portrait of a nurse serving "in country" during the Vietnam War and then returning home. This is a very highly recommended, emotionally charged historical fiction novel which will certainly be one of the best books of the year. This would be an excellent choice for book clubs and will certainly result in thought-provoking discussions.

After nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears the words "Women can be heroes too," while looking at her father's wall of heroes featuring pictures of the men in their family who served their country during a party for her brother Finley who is leaving to serve his country in Vietnam. After she gets her RN she follows the lead of her older brother, and joins the Army Nurse Corps and begins basic training in 1966. Once she arrives in Vietnam, she is overwhelmed by the smells, sights and chaos, but is shown support and the ropes by fellow nurses Ethel and Barb. She quickly steps up and adapts to the responsibilities of a surgical nurse dealing with horrific injuries under extreme conditions.

After serving two years, Frankie comes home and faces a different kind of battle. Her father is ashamed of her service, the country does not recognize nurses who served and sacrificed as veterans, and the country is in turmoil. The only help and support she can find for her PTSD are from Ethel and Barb who understand what she is going through mentally and help her adapt to civilian life in a changed country.

The writing is phenomenal and manages to create an emotionally charged, realistic, and vivid portrait of Frankie's service and her struggles. I was completely immersed in The Women from start to finish. Part of my complete captivation with the narrative was based on my memories from that time period. I was young, but have vivid memories of events from the sixties and certainly more from the seventies. Hannah managed to create a complete portrait of the women and the times (including clothing).

The experiences the characters experience is heart-breaking. Frankie is a completely fully-realized realistic character who garnered my compassion and empathy. Her treatment when coming back from war to work in a hospital is eye-opening and in many ways disgusting.

This is the best kind of historical fiction as it takes a long sweeping view covering years of a character's life as society, information, and point-of-views constantly change around the characters. It covers an era and a turbulent time. The narrative is broken into two parts. The first deals mainly with the war and the second with trying to reenter civilian life after the war.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is a must read novel. I expect it to be on many lists for the best novels of 2024. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Northwoods by Amy Pease is a very highly recommended mystery/procedural. This excellent debut novel set in a small Wisconsin town features a compelling mystery, substance abuse, a character seeking redemption, and portrays the strength of the bond between parents and children.

Eli North is struggling. His marriage is over, he drinks too much, and he suffers from PTSD and panic attacks. After he returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, his job as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigator was terminated. He did find a job as a detective with the small local sheriff's office in the town of Shaky Lake because his mother, Marge, is the sheriff in Sherman County, Wisconsin. When Eli is called to investigate a noise complaint at a lakeside cabin, he discovers in a boat tied to the dock the body of a teenage boy, Ben Sharpe. It is soon discovered that a teenage girl, Caitlin, is also missing and FBI agent Alyssa Mason arrives to help. The investigation appears to be tied to the opioid crisis but may have roots that extend much further out.

The writing is outstanding in this impressive debut novel. Pease does an exceptional job following the investigation and providing clues along the way while developing both the plot and the characters. With the ties to illegal drugs and the additional suspicions the investigation uncovers, the complexity of the case increases along with the tension and interest in finding out the truth. As the investigation into Ben's murder and the search for Caitlin is underway, it becomes clear that the bond between parents and their children is a central theme. The setting also comes to life and plays a role in the plot.

While the mystery and investigation are complex and compelling, where Northwoods really excels is in the depth and empathy found in the depiction of her characters, especially Eli. All of the characters are fully realized as unique individuals with strengths and weaknesses. The dialogue is well-done and the interpersonal interaction between characters is realistic. These characters feel like real individuals and they will garner your sympathy and compassion as they do the best they can.

Disclosure: My complimentary review copy was courtesy of Atria/Emily Bestler Books via NetGalley.

Anna O. by Matthew Blake is a very highly recommended, unique, well-written literary psychological thriller. If you love Hitchcock movies and thoughtful, intelligent even-paced mysteries, this will be a perfect choice for your next book.

Dr. Benedict (Ben) Prince is a forensic psychologist who is also an expert in sleep-related crimes. He has written articles and a book that have brought him to the attention of the public, especially regarding the case of Anna O. Anna Ogilvy stabbed her two best friends to death in her sleep when she was twenty-five. Since that night four years ago she has been in a deep sleep. This sleep, diagnosed as resignation syndrome, is a condition where a person enters an involuntary extended deep sleep as a way to avoid trauma. Ben recently wrote an article that suggested ways to address this condition, perhaps even cure it.

Ben works at the Abbey Sleep Clinic. When his boss Dr. Virginia Bloom summons him to a secret meeting with a man from the Ministry of Justice, he learns that Anna O. is going to be moved into the clinic. They want him to wake her up so she can be charged with murder. However, there are more secrets involved in this case that make success anything but a simple, guaranteed outcome.

Anna O. is a excellent, electrifying, exceptional, layered, and very unique novel. It is a very, very good complex psychological thriller. Anna O. is also much more literary, intricate, and thoughtful than the majority of psychological thrillers out there. Additionally, it does not follow the formula almost every other psychological thriller follows. The pre-publication notes on Anna O. really raised expectations to a pinnacle of excellence, which did a bit of a disservice to this intelligent, suspenseful, well-written novel that should be targeting literary readers who will appreciate and enjoy the basic mystery aspects while relishing all the other references made and layers it offers.

The narrative is told through several point-of-view, mainly Ben's, and Anna's journal entries. There are plenty of references to Hitchcock movies that help to add a thoughtful depth and an atmospheric tension. Readers can also expect references to many many literary works. Characters are portrayed as full realized, realistic complicated individuals. Readers are privy to private thoughts There are clues interspersed in the plot along with plenty of misdirection. Anna O. is definitely an engrossing literary psychological thriller written to be read carefully rather than racing through the pages.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via Edelweiss.

Welcome Home, Stranger by Kate Christensen is a recommended family drama.

Rachel Callowy, an environmental journalist in Washington, DC, and self-professed “middle-aged childless recently orphaned menopausal workaholic,” is going home to Maine after the death of her mother. Lucie was a very difficult mother, to put it mildly, and Rachel was estranged from her for the last ten years. Her wealthy sister Celeste was left to care for Lucie through cancer treatments. Celeste is upset and angry at Rachel and this presents itself as a lot of passive-aggressive behavior.

While Rachel is already handling living with an ex-husband and his boyfriend in their condo, and a boss who wants to fire her, now she has a pile of other problems. A longtime friend/lover, David, lives next door to Celeste with his new wife, but he still wants Rachel. She inherited her mother's house which needs work. Celeste has issues of her own she is dealing with, an alcoholic husband, distant teens, and loads of resentment.

Characters are portrayed as realistic individuals. Rachel is fully realized and complex as is Celeste. Lucie is examined and exposed as an especially flawed character. A novel only handling the complicated and unhealthy parenting of Lucie and the effects on her daughters would be a heavy enough focus for a short narrative.

Welcome Home, Stranger is a beautifully written novel about the complications of family, grief, growing older, and reexamining your past. However, it also covers so many emotionally laden topics in so few pages that nothing seems to reach any satisfying resolution, which is unfortunate. Just a few of Rachel's problems would be enough to cover in one abbreviated novel. The other option would be to extend the narrative and fully cover all the issues.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via Edelweiss.

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen is a very highly recommended, excellent spy thriller and the first book in a new series featuring a group of retired CIA operatives living in Purity, Maine.

Maggie Bird, 60, retired from the CIA sixteen years ago and now considers herself a chicken farmer. She enjoys her quiet life on Blackberry Farm and the book club/martini club she attends with a group of long time friends who are also retired. When a mysterious woman who shows up asking about a former associate is later found dead in Maggie's driveway, it's clearly a message and threat. Maggie's friends are quick to jump in to help her with their special skills. Acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau, however, is puzzled by this group of senior citizens who are competently conducting their own investigation.

The narrative alternates between the past and the present in Maggie's life and told through the point-of-view of Maggie or Jo. Although the story moves around in time, it is very easy to follow and readers will know which character is the focus. The main story concerns Maggie and her life. Maggie is a fully realized, well-developed character and she will immediately garner your support and sympathy

Everything about The Spy Coast is excellent, the writing, plot, and characters, and represents the start of a wonderful new series that I will most definitely follow. The Martini Club is composed of likeable, skilled former CIA agents who may be retired seniors but are still intelligent and capable. The pages flew by in this entertaining, fast-paced, and engaging novel. The ending was a complete surprise.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.

One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni is a very highly recommended procedural investigating cold cases from a serial killer and the tenth novel in the Detective Tracy Crosswhite series.

When the Seattle Times plans to run a series of articles about the Route 99 serial killer from 25 years ago, Detective Tracy Crosswhite is ordered to reopening the investigation by Police chief Marcella Weber. After thirteen victims, the serial killer seemed to stop and the task force at the time, lead by Captain Johnny Nolasco, reached no conclusion. Weber assigns Nolasco to work with Tracy in solving the cold cases. The two try to set their rocky relationship aside to solve the decades old cases and bring closure to the families of the victims. They also know that Weber is targeting them for dismissal should they fail.

Even the concept that Tracy and Nolasco are working together on a case will certainly be a huge draw for fans of the series who will also be rewarded with many of the characters from previous books making an appearance. Tracy continues to be a fully realized complex character and this time even Nolasco shows more depth and nuance.

As expected, the writing is outstanding. For much of the investigation this is a more cerebral procedural rather than an action-packed thriller, which is to be expected with a cold case investigation from 25 years ago. It will appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about the clues and puzzles that a cold case investigation presents as the evidence is re-examined through a new set of eyes. It also helps that there have been great advances in technology and DNA testing since the original case.

Another great addition to a winning series! The great news is that One Last Kill can be read as a stand alone.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.

The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright is very highly recommended literary fiction following the legacy of trauma in an Irish family.

Celebrated Irish poet Phil McDaragh is the grandfather of Nell, father of Carmel, and was the husband of Terry. Each of them experiences the legacy of his poems differently. Nell was raised by her single mother, Carmel. She is a recent university graduate who never knew her grandfather, but his love poems speak to her. She's involved in a toxic relationship that she struggles to leave. Carmel is a hard, practical realist who knows the spells her father's poetry can spin, but also knows he abandoned his wife who had breast cancer and left his two daughters to care for her as he went off to charm women and had affairs. She is fiercely the mother to Nell while viewing her father realistically. She has heard how he charmed Terry and witnessed his later actions.

The novel is filled with lyrical poems featuring birds, but also very real episodes of cruelty and violence. There is a strong juxtaposition of the expressive beauty of the poetry with the realistic violence and betrayal. The narrative switches between the point-of-view of Nell, Carmel, and Phil. The complicated feeling Carmel feels for her father while also knowing the worse of his behavior illustrates the sharp contrasts between his poetry and behavior. Nell's entanglements also seem to mimic this same disparity.

Both Nell and Carmel are portrayed as realistic, fully realized characters, with flaws, struggles, and strengths. You will hope for the best for both of them and their relationship as daughter and mother while they deal with their issues and the complications from their family name.

What sets this literary family drama apart from other novels is the impeccable writing that soulfully captures the yearning, betrayal, and longing of the characters as they must each journey to their own conclusions. They have inherited the ties to Phil's poetic accomplishes, but must determine what inheritance this will mean for their lives. That Enright successfully tackles this quandary in the narrative and accomplishes this, seemingly with ease, is part of what made this an exceptional novel.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of W.W. Norton & Company via NetGalley.

North Woods by Daniel Mason is a highly recommended imaginative historical fiction, but with a different point of reference.

This is a novel about all the lives that lived in a single house in the woods of New England. The novel consists of twelve stories that tie into the seasons and months of the year, all set around the land and house, beginning with two young Puritan lovers who escaped from their colony. Residents also include in part, an English soldier who wants an apple orchard, twin sisters, a landscape painter, the wealthy Farnsworths, and subsequently their daughter and her schizophrenic son, Robert, and a true crime writer.

This is also the story of the land, animals, insects, spores, etc., and the changes experienced over the years. Finally, it is a ghost story, where the former inhabitants may still be haunting the area. Included within the narrative at different points are also folk ballads, letters, diary entries, real estate listing, and accounts of nature's changes, seeds, blights and insects coming to the land. Taken in totality, it all culminates in a tale of how all things in a specific environments are interconnected over time.

The quality of the writing is simply gorgeous and undeniably compelling. The writing will pull you in and keep you reading, however, as with any collection of interconnected stories, not all stories will be as compelling as others throughout the whole novel. The structure and decision to tell a story in this manner, over decades and through different characters on one piece of land, is interesting yet also challenging. I was not especially interested in all the characters and ghosts, however I kept reading for the little gems within the writing.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Random House via NetGalley.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is a very highly recommended family drama and will be on my list of best books of 2023.

Set In 2020 at the Nelson family's orchard in Michigan, Joe and Lara have all three of their daughters back home for the lock down. Emily, the oldest wants to continue farming and will inherit the family farm. Maisie is a veterinarian, while Nell, the youngest, wants to become an actress. With other seasonal workers unable to help, they must all help pick cherries. When famous actor Peter Duke dies, Lara's daughters beg her to tell the story of her romance with Duke when she was young and they were both actors at Tom Lake's summer theater. While picking cherries, Lara tells the story of her short lived acting career.

The exquisitely written narrative gracefully moves between Lara's recollection of her past and the present never-ending work in the orchard set before the family. It is a gentle reminder that parents had lives before they became parents and that everyone has a story and lessons learned. The finesse utilized between retelling parts of her past story with the heavy lessons Lara learned all embedded within the present daily grind of never-ending cherry picking is masterful.

Both narrative threads, the past and the present, are equally interesting and compelling. Since Thornton Wilder's play Our Town is a major part of the plot, some knowledge of the play and characters would be very beneficial. This shouldn't be an issue for most readers.

Even though this is set during the pandemic, I appreciated the way this was handled more than I have with any other lock down novel. Lives and plans were disrupted, but work continued for many. Other lock down novels have not even remotely captured the experience of working even harder every day because it had to be done. There is a brief passage where Emily says she doesn't want children due to climate change, which danced too close to my lose rule to leave current events out of novels rule. But once it was added I do wish Patchett had continued the then-and-now theme and mentioned that in the late 70's the change being touted was a new ice age.

Tom Lake is an ode to life being made around choices and events that all lead to where you are today. The true gift of the story is Patchett's skillful handling of the dual narrative and her intelligent, beautifully written story of Lara's life. Tom Lake is one of the best literary books of 2023.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via Edelweiss.

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller is a very highly recommended, exquisitely written novel following a realistic account of a national park ranger.

Officer Ren Hopper is an enforcement ranger with the Yellowstone National Park Service. His many duties vary greatly as he deals with often clueless tourists, a park full of wildlife, and local residents. Off duty, he enjoys spending time with Hilly, the wolf biologist, who is passionate about her work. There is trouble brewing between Hilly and a local hunter/trapper, Les Ingraham, who may be poaching too. And then there is someone who is specifically leaving notes that are targeting and threatening Ren.

Heller does a magnificent, poetic job capturing the beauty and danger found in the natural environment of Yellowstone, as well as the conflicts between people in The Last Ranger. It is an even paced novel that is part mystery novel with several incidents to investigate and part ode to the natural world. Heller has seamlessly written into the plot many facts and information about wolves, bears, and other animals in the wilderness.

At the same time Heller also populates The Last Ranger with a cast of realistic characters with differences and conflicting emotions. Ren is a wonderful, complex, fully realized character. He is thoughtful, contemplative, and purposeful while dealing with the conflicts and questions he encounters. His emotional wounds from his past are present, but help make him the man he is.

The Last Ranger would be a wonderful choice for a book club. There are so many details and questions that could be discussed.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Knopf via NetGalley.