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Imagine the chaos that would unfold if you are on a plane and a seemingly "nice" middle aged woman walks down the aisle pointing at passengers saying the manner and age of their death. Some might rest easier hoping she was right "at 88 in their sleep" but others were given a more gruesome prediction. We follow several of those passengers home to see how this information changes them. The "death lady" turns out to be a good person whose mother was a psychic but the daughter became a statistical psychic - an actuary. You breeze through the chapters hoping for the best yet fearing the next page will bring truth to the prediction no matter what changes the person has made. An all too human roller coaster that asks the scary question - if you knew the when and how of your death would you change your life path? This will make a great book club selection or dinner table conversation with friends and readers of THE MEASURE will happily ponder this. 4 stars 
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A timely accident leads Fred to a nursing home bed on the very day he finds himself homeless. He tries to explain but if falls on deaf ears and what starts out as a day leads to another and Fred becomes Bernard. The caregivers notice small changes but are happy that Bernard is nice to everyone and helpful after the accident. As the days goes by Bernard tries to make amends for his past mistakes and Fred (as Bernard) tries to do right by the man he replaced. Loneliness, forgiveness, kindness and a deep understanding of human frailty are the main themes. A sweet feel good story about the ups and downs of getting old with unfinished business with a cast of interesting characters and a belly laugh along the way. Fans of THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT and THE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT HIS WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED will enjoy this. 4 stars  A satisfying gothic mystery centered around science, myth and religion in Eighteenth century Wales. A disgraced doctor in London is forced to take the position of village doctor in remote Wales. The villagers don't trust him and the gentry don't like his interference but he does find a kindred spirit in Linette, his boss's niece. Linette takes care of the village families and the miner's against her Uncle's wishes. Dr. Talbot and Linette are also trying to solve the mysterious disease that keeps her mother a madwoman. The more Dr. Talbot looks into suspicious deaths, strange symbols, unsafe conditions at the mines and the drugged mistress of the house the more danger he finds himself in. A classic story of the wealthy class taking advantage and the zero tolerance for assertive women who don't fit the social norm mixed with a spooky story of demonic clubs and myth vs. science. Gothic readers who choose mystery over romance will find this to be a good choice. 4 stars  Tere is stuck in a rut. She left teaching at the university when her husband died and hasn't found the will to go back. She just needs a push which comes the day she begins to levitate. She feels the need to travel to Spain and discover the secret of her levitating ancestor Saint Teresa of Avila and find answers. What she finds are more questions, new friends and reconnections with family roots. All "women of a certain age" will enjoy and understand this touching story of being untethered - both emotionally and physically and the joy of second chances. Tere with the help of Avila will find the strength to fly. A story that will appeal to many readers who find themselves adrift or not but enjoy cross cultural exploration. 4 stars  If you were expecting the version of history where the women supported the men, tended the farms and minded children think again because Heather Pringle's Viking woman is closer to Wonder Woman. New findings have unearthed that women in Viking society were responsible for all the weaving of sails for the longboats, waterproof and warm clothing for the sailors as well as artisans, managing the farms and even warriors. Using the latest technology and some recent significant sites we now know that women played a much larger role in the Viking world. Instead of rattling off facts, the author includes an imagined day in the life of these women and then supports it throughout the chapter with the findings from various archeological sites. It makes for a fascinating look at a largely ignored or assumption of Viking women and their role. The text is very readable and will appeal to history lovers who don't usually read non-fiction or those who enjoy reading about overlooked women in ancient history. 4 1/2 stars  Dylan Read is a household name. Number one on the pop charts she writes soulful ballads from the heart that she has been composing since high school. What no one knows is that her best friend Kelsey was the performer, muse and driving force behind Dylan's career. When Kelsey disappeared that night in high school it ended what could have been her road to stardom and instead it was Dylan who shot to the top. Fifteen years later Kelsey's body is found and her connection to Dylan exposed leaving Dylan's carefully orchestrated public relations open to the social media circus. Dylan goes back to her hometown and must reconcile her past and what success she owes to Kelsey. I loved the behind the scenes look at the music industry and carefully curated public relations while asking the question of just how much right does the public have to a star's private life. Fans of DAISY JONES AND THE SIX and THE SINGER SISTERS will find much harmony. 4 stars  Quill is a Native American living with her family on the rez in cold Minnesota. The quiet of the woods and the crisp air seems like the perfect safe place for her to run and train for the next marathon until the day she hears a woman scream. When Quill and her husband go back to check they can't find anything except tire tracks and her insistence at what she heard falls on deaf ears at the tribal police. Days later she and her friends are almost run off the road, native women are going missing or drugged at the casino and a child is abducted but the tribal police have few leads. Quill and her two friends take matters into their own hands and investigate putting themselves at great risk. It is their sense of family, community and tenacity that creates change. Sadly, Native Americans go missing frequently so not only is this a heart pounding mystery but also a cry for awareness and call to take charge. Readers of Tony Hillerman, Nevada Barr will enjoy. 4 stars  A cozy magic store goes wand to wand with newcomer mages in a small town where only one shop can survive. Charlie and her two moms live and work in the cottage spell shop that has been the family business for generations. It is all Charlie wants in life to keep the shop going but that might all change when a hot mage and his sister move into town with an updated store and plans to get the only license. If only Fitz and his sister were horrible but they are anything but and what turns into a friendly competition is made more difficult by all the sparks flying between Charlie and Fitz. Cozy magic meets "You've Got Mail" retail romance for the perfect read to end summer and get ready for Halloween. Fans of THE EX HEX by Erin Sterling or LEGENDS & LATTES will enjoy. 3 1/2 stars  In the vein of THE STEPFORD WIVES Vincent Tirado explores a strange mostly white gated community and the effects it has on the Korean American and Dominican American gay couple who buy their dream house there. Sol and Alice have worked hard to buy a place of their own and can't believe their luck when they find something in the "near perfect" community of Maneless Grove. Everything is too perfect, the neighbors are way too nosy and overly friendly which is making Sol twitch. The final straw for her is being forced to sign a multi page HOA agreement. Alice is the more social of the two and she acclimates much faster but is still not immune to the many weird things going on. All of this, including Sol being accused of plagiarism and home on a forced sabbatical, is causing tension in their marriage. From the haunted house vibe to the zombie teens in the woods to the voices in her head Sol is having one scary nightmare. This story will appeal to the author's young adult fans as well as adults who enjoyed LOVECRAFT COUNTRY and ONE OF OUR KIND. 4 stars  Jane is biracial and has long known the frustrations and racial tension of having one leg on the Black side and the other leg on the White side of the fence. She and her husband and two kids have been bouncing from apartment to apartment for awhile and now have an opportunity to housesit for a year in a posh L.A. neighborhood. They are living the good life with a studio for her husband to get ready for his big art show and for Jane to finish her second huge novel. She is unprepared for the less than optimistic response from her agent on her opus and takes a chance meeting with a Hollywood bigwig producer looking to create a hit romcom about "being mulatto". Jane feels she is halfway accepted by this group, halfway committed to her marriage and halfway committed to her dream of becoming a respected novelist. This is a heartfelt look at hanging on to your dented reality while faced with all the shiny possibilities and false hope of Hollywood. Readers of THE VANISHING HALF and LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND will find much to like here. 4 stars  |
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