October Books

 

The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas -- College friends and roommates Tess, Caroline, Merritt, and Evie join a reading club hosted by Alice, the town's bookshop owner. Pretty good.

The Last Breath by Kimberly Belle -- After living abroad for sixteen years, Gia returns to Appalachia to care for her father who is dying from cancer. He was convicted of her stepmother's murder, but is coming home to die - or await another trial. An OK book.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager -- Kit takes a job caring for a lady rumored to have killed her parents and sister over fifty years ago. While caring for Lenora Hope, she learns more of the story of what happened back then. Pretty good one.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center -- Sadie is excited when she's chosen as a finalist in an art competition, but when a medical situation leaves her with face blindness, she struggles with what to do. Because the competition is in her speciality: portraiture.  Meanwhile she meets Joe and the nice veterinarian Oliver Addison, and deals with a father who doesn't care about her very much and her evil stepsister Parker.

Save What's Left by Elizabeth Castellano -- A rather humorous look at one woman's life after she moves from Kansas to a beach town in New Jersey. Pretty cute.

A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly -- Days after she begins a new job in the war effort, Evelyne discovers a murdered coworker. She teams up with David Poole to investigate who could have killed Jean, and also the two work to uncover a mole.

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims -- Margo is a former nurse who changed her name and started working in a library. Patricia is a trained librarian stuck in a rinky dink library where her work at the reference desk includes people calling to ask her the number for the car part store and how far one town is from another. Yet Patricia finds Margo intriguing...especially since Margo let it slip that she left her nursing job mid-shift due to hospital politics. Who does that?

Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke -- A good story about four friends who met at a ladies' school in Connecticut around the time of the first world war. Adelaide, Dot, Susannah, and Ruth promised to be there for each other through thick and thin. Alternating between their days at school and then as adults, this book was an enjoyable read. 

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney -- Patience is a young care worker in a home for old people, and she sneaks Edith's dog up to her every once in a while. She lives above the art gallery of a guy who wants her to spy for him. Meanwhile Clio is trying to afford the fees for her mother's care while Frankie is looking for her runaway daughter. This book was a bit confusing to get into, but got better as more of the story unfolded. 

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger -- Selena and her family are dealing with the disappearance of the children's nanny, meanwhile Anna aka Martha aka ____ is perfecting her con. The women meet on the 7:45 train. Pretty good if you like these types of books!

The Grandmother Plot by Caroline B. Cooney -- Freddy is a twenty-six year old who likes making things with glass. He also is the one selected to care for his grandmother who has dementia so he moves to Connecticut for that. He visits her in her memory care home, and meets interesting characters. Oh, someone is murdered. This was an ok book.

Blood Will Tell by Heather Chavez -- Frankie is a single mom who balances life with her son Julian, being a math teacher, and trying to keep track of her younger sister, Izzy. Izzy has issues with drugs and drinking too much, and Frankie often bails her out of her troubles. In this book Frankie investigates what happened five years ago when Rachel died, and also why was her truck involved in an AMBER alert?

The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons -- Gertie is a widow thinking of selling the bookshop she ran with her beloved husband, but then the war happened and her friend Charles approaches her about taking in a German Jewish child. Which she does. Hedy is fifteen and things are rough for a while as the two come to terms with living together. Pretty good story.

The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer -- This book is told from the perspectives of Eloise and Josie who were SOE agents in the war. Also, Charlotte is the daughter to an agent, Noah, who in the 1970s tells his daughter about his wartime activities. Whereas she always thought he was a mechanic in the war, she found out he was a spy. Pretty good.

The Favor by Nicci French -- When Jude is contacted by a highschool boyfriend eleven years later, she agrees to Liam's request to meet and do a favor for him. But when he never shows up at their meeting place, Jude questions her agreement to help him.

The Neighbor's Secret by L. Alison Heller -- These book club members are dealing with a lot and more than one neighbor has a secret. Annie has a relationship she wants to keep hidden, and her daughter Laurel is acting out. Jen is scared that she's raising a sociopath, and wants answers for - and a school that will accept - her son Abe. Lena has her own long-held secret about the night a young man died. Whewie! This book was pretty good.

The Wings of Poppy Pendleton by Melanie Dobson -- This book alternates between the voices of Chloe in present times, and Amelia, Birdie and a few other characters in the past. Chloe runs a candy shop on one of the Thousand Islands where Poppy Pendleton disappeared decades ago. She and a reporter named Logan try to solve the mystery. Meanwhile Chloe is watching a young girl who showed up, but refuses to say where she's from.

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin -- Rachel Krall is a podcaster invited to Florida by the FBI because a prisoner they suspect of several murders is getting ready to be released. Using an old Instagram account, Rachel goes undercover at a local convention for social media influencers in order to learn more about a popular influencer Maddison who has gone missing. Pretty good.

She Started It by Sian Gilbert -- Anabel, Tanya, Chloe, and Esther were shocked when someone from their past invited them to her hen weekend, an all-expenses paid trip to a private island in the Bahamas. Why is Poppy wanting these particular women to be part of her wedding? They bullied her in school! Granted, that was ten-plus years ago, but still. 

The Swindler's Daughter by Stephenia H. McGee -- This book was ok, nothing special. Lillian is stunned when her father dies and leaves her his property. Why is she stunned? Well, all her life her mom claimed to be a widow, but it turns out, her parents were never married and Liliian's dad was alive until just recently. She travels to the place her father lives to settle the estate, and meets a family living in her dad's house.

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister -- Julia is a detective in England investigating another missing person. When someone breaks into her car and forces her to plant evidence or else her big secret will be revealed, Julia struggles. As she should!  Pretty good story.