Our Favorite Books:

Not quite a British "cozy," this delightful mystery has enough suspense and threatening situations to be totally absorbing and yet the light touch in the writing makes it a fine if not too serious read.  It is London, England, 1934, and an unimportant and down on her luck "Royal," Lady Georgiana Rannoch, (Queen Victoria was her grandmother) finds herself swept up into the inner circle of the royal family and the preparations for the upcoming wedding of Prince George, when she's asked to be a companion to the foreign and beautiful bride-to-be, Princess Marina of Greece.

     If you haven't discovered Elly Griffiths Dr. Ruth Galloway mystery books you are in for a treat. The House at Sea's End is part of this series written by Elly Griffiths and I recommend it with great enthusiasm. Published in 2011 it is now available in mass market. The setting is the northern coast of England in 2005. Dr. Ruth Galloway is summoned by the local police Chief Inspector Harry Nelson to examine 6 bodies recently uncovered in a seaside cave by a spring storm.

     England, 1939. Ten-year-old Virginia Wrathmell arrives at Salt Winds, a secluded house on the edge of a marsh, to meet her adoptive parents―practical, dependable Clem and glamorous, mercurial Lorna. The marsh, with its deceptive tides, is a beautiful but threatening place. Virginia’s new parents’ marriage is full of secrets and tensions she doesn’t quite understand, and their wealthy neighbor, Max Deering, drops by too often, taking an unwholesome interest in the family’s affairs. Only Clem offers a true sense of home.

     This sequel to The Cruel Prince is tense, atmospheric, twisty, and everything I wanted it to be. Jude survived the events of the first book, but not without sacrifices--and now she has to fight to keep her power, fend off the fae of the Undersea, and untangle her complicated relationship with High King Cardan. This book will take you for a wild ride, and you won't be able to put it down. The moral gray areas, difficult decisions, and suspense will captivate you and ensure you're still thinking about it when you finish.

     It is the 1890's and a young, recently widowed naturalist Cora travels to Aldwinter to investigate rumors of a return of a mythical sea serpent to the gloomy marshes and estuaries of the tiny village. Top notch historic fiction writer Sarah Perry spins a well-written tale of menace and fear as well as humor, love, faith and courage. For a tale well told - read this book.
 

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce is filled with colorful characters.--literally-- a tattoo artist, a clerk who blankets the street with flyers, and most importantly the music shop owner, Frank. Frank helps customers and friends through tough times by choosing the right music to listen to: a a heartbroken Chopin listener gets Aretha Franklin. Frank's whole world changes when a mysterious customer in a green coat faints outside his shop. This novel even has a playlist on Spotify!

     Christopher Knight lived in a tent encampment in the Maine Woods for 27 years, never being seen or speaking to another human. He lived unlike anything you can imagine--breaking into homes for food, batteries, propane, books, even mattresses--waking up in the middle of the night so as not to freeze to death in the heart of the winter.

Endling#1: The Last will have you rooting for Byx, Tobble, and Khara as the pages melt away. Byx is the youngest of a litter of dairnes:  a highly-intelligent and almost extinct dog-like species that can talk, walk upright, glide through the air like a flying squirrel , and recognize a lie.

The best books always make you want to know more. American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee offers insight into the often diverging perspectives of biologists, environmentalists, ranchers, hunters, and politicians surrounding the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone. But the genius of this book starts with the narrative: this is a page-turner! The choice to tell this story as a kind of biography of the rise and reign of one wolf, an alpha-female known as O-Six, described as "the most famous wolf in the world" and a "once in a generation hunter" make this story come alive.