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Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar

February 10, 2026

missing sam

It’s the July 4th weekend when Ali‘s wife Sam goes missing on her early morning run in their upscale Cleveland Heights neighborhood. Her disappearance sets in motion events that keep Thrity Umrigar’s new novel, Missing Sam, at a slow burn over the mystery, but ignites a blaze in the response the community has to the situation. Aliyah Mirza is a U.S. citizen, a Muslim whose ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, mystery, suspense

Crux by Gabriel Tallent

February 4, 2026

crux

Life in a nowhere town in the Mojave Desert should be torture for teens, but Daniel and Tamma are rock-climbing freaks and the area is filled with challenging boulders. Best friends since childhood they spend every waking moment not in school out on the rocks, but as Crux opens it is senior year. Daniel is a gifted student likely to be accepted at the best schools while Tamma ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, friendship, literary

The Poet Empress

February 2, 2026

poet empress

The Poet Empress is a debut by Shen Tao, set in 650AD China in the kingdom of Tensha. The current emperor is dying and two of his sons are vying for the throne.  One of them, Terren, needs a bride and concubines, so a nationwide search is begun. During the approval process he randomly chooses the daughter of a rice farmer, a nobody from a poor famine-stricken village. Even more ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: China, debut, fantasy

The English Masterpiece

January 21, 2026

english masterpiece

I don’t listen to a lot of audiobooks so it’s a delight when I take the time and it works out. The English Masterpiece is set in 1970s London and Lily is the assistant to Diana Gilden, the director of the modern art collection at the Tate Museum. This job is Lily’s chance to prove herself in the art world and hopefully, to become known as an artist herself. As the novel begins ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1970s, art, London, mystery

Twenty Years Later

January 19, 2026

twenty years

Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea combines true crime television, celebrities, and 9/11. The story begins with the salacious murder of a famous author. The circumstantial evidence at the scene leads to a suspect, Victoria Ford, being indicted. Before the case can proceed to trial she disappears. Twenty years later her DNA is identified from a tiny bone fragment preserved ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: mystery, suspense, vacation reading

Skylark by Paula McClain

January 16, 2026

skylark

A young woman is imprisoned in an insane asylum in the 1600s. A psychiatric medical student in Paris in the 1940s is faced with the realities of the Nazi invasion. These two unrelated characters sit at the center of Paula McLain’s latest novel, Skylark, because both are forced to venture into the darkest parts of Paris in order to find freedom. Alouette comes from a family ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: France, historical, Holocaust, WWII

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