BOOK REVIEWS
The Secret Life of Sunflowers (by Marta Molnar)
The sunflowers caught me first. Then I realized the woman on the cover was Jo van Gogh-Bonger—the sister-in-law who made Vincent famous. Dana Marton, writing as Marta Molnar, turns Jo’s fight to save his unsold paintings into a dual-timeline novel I was more than ready to hear.
We Will Be Watching (by Ruth Ware)
Leaving Instagram meant losing author updates—until newsletters. Signing up for Ruth Ware’s list got me a free copy of her unpublished short story “We Will Be Watching,” a tense escape-room thriller I loved. Review + how to read it inside.
Dear Debbie (by Freida McFadden)
I’m such a Freida McFadden fan. Her books reliably deliver the kind of twisty, bingeable entertainment I crave, and I only wish I could catch up on her new releases and dive into the…
Risen from the Ashes (by Patrick O’Brian)
Risen from the Ashes by Patrick O'Brian covers much of the same territory as the first West Baden Springs Hotel book I recently reviewed, West Baden Springs: Legacy of Dreams.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation (by Ottessa Moshfegh)
I read Eileen, one of Ottessa Moshfegh’s earlier novels, years ago and loved it. I remember it being strange, perplexing, and kind of frightening—all in a good way. As her subsequent books…
Murder at the Breakers (by Alyssa Maxwell)
As a lifelong visitor to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, I’ve long been intrigued by the Vanderbilts. I love learning about that house and the family’s history, so when I saw…
It Could Have Been Her (by Lisa Jewell)
Lisa Jewell has such a long backlist of titles, which means I have a lot of great books by her still ahead of me. I fell in love with her storytelling through her suspenseful thrillers, though I’ve also…
Girl with a Pearl Earring (by Tracy Chevalier)
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier has been on my radar for a long time. I didn’t realize it was first published in 1999, but I’d seen steady praise for it over the years. I finally…
West Baden Springs: Legacy of Dreams (by Chris Bundy)
To celebrate my retirement in September 2024, my husband and I spent a few days at the West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick, Indiana. It’s a magnificent and unexpected gem tucked into…
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