Cover image of a house with flowers and crows on the roof. Smoke is coming out of the chimney in the shape of a skull, There is a tortoise making a trail across the yard and a man in a hat in a wheelchair and a woman bent over a cane. Text says "The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp A Murder Mystery Leonie Swann Translated from the German by Amy Bojang." The cover blurb text reads "'A deliciously clever plot with warmly drawn characters, dollops of tension and dark secrets. Brilliant!'–Helen Tursten, bestselling author of An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good"

Aging Disgracefully

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THE SUNSET YEARS OF AGNES SHARP rating: four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. THE SUNSET YEARS OF AGNES SHARP by Leonie Swann (Soho Crime/Penguin Random House, August 29, 2023) is a new favorite of mine in the fictional trend I like to call “Aging Disgracefully” or “Surprising Seniors,” and not just because it’s set in England. The seniors […]

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Image of two sets of binoculars looking through window blinds. Text says "MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT a novel NINA SIMON." Cover blurb text: 'No novel has ever made family drama (or murder) this much fun.' KATY HAYS, New York Times Bestselling author of The Cloisters."

Mother-Daughter Murder Night

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MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. At the heart of MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT by Nina Simon (William Morrow/HarperCollins, September 5, 2023), are three generations of strong women in one family: Lana, Beth, and Jack. I just fell in love with these characters. I was also enthralled by the setting: Elkhorn Slough in Monterey Bay,

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Image of roses and a bee. Text says "New York Times Bestselling Author Before Romeo loved Juliet, he loved FAIR ROSALINE Natasha Solomons A Novel." Cover blurb says "'Irresistible. An Excellent spin on a timeless classic.'–Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne"

Fair Rosaline

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FAIR ROSALINE rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. In FAIR ROSALINE by Natasha Solomons (Sourcebooks Landmark, September 12, 2023), a retelling of Shakespeare’s play THE TRAGEDY OF ROMEO AND JULIET, this ain’t Franco Zeffrelli’s Romeo, not that I liked him that much either. At least the 1968 movie Romeo looked the same age as Juliet. In fact,

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Image shows a man on a horse in the distance between trees and shrubs under a colorful sky. Text says "New York Times Bestselling Author of News of the World Paulette Jiles Chenneville a novel of murder, loss, and vengeance"

Chenneville

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CHENNEVILLE rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. After the Civil War, former Union soldier John Chenneville tracks his sister Lalie’s killer, a crooked deputy named Dodd, across hundreds of miles of battle-ravaged Indian territory and the U.S. frontier. His hard and painful journey takes him from Missouri to the Gulf Coast of Texas in CHENNEVILLE by Paulette

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Image of bones crossed over flowers and fruit. Text says "Stephanie Foo What My Bones Know A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma." The cover blurb says, "'Achingly exquisite . . . providing real hope for those who long to heal.'–Lori Gottlieb, New York Times Bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone."

What My Bones Know

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WHAT MY BONES KNOW rating: four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. CW: child abuse. Got deep trauma? Feel like true healing is impossible? You need to read this stunning memoir, WHAT MY BONES KNOW, by radio producer and journalist Stephanie Foo (Ballantine/Penguin Random House, February 21, 2023). She explains how she ended up with complex PTSD (C-PTSD) and

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Image show a robot in a helmet half-kneeling in a rocky landscape looking back at a spider-like robot creature in the sky in the background. Text says "Martha Wells Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Series! System Collapse The Murderbot Diaries The New York Times Bestselling Series." Cover blurb says: "'One of the most human experiences you can have in sci-fi right now.'–NPR on the Murderbot Diaries."

Murderbot

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SYSTEM COLLAPSE rating: four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. This book is 7th in the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells. If you’ve never read any Murderbot books, this review has spoilers. If you’re up to date, I’ll try not to spoil SYSTEM COLLAPSE (Tor/Macmillan, November 14, 2023). This is the first book in the series I’ve read;

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Image shows a green female ogre holding a bun, carrying a sword and an an open book, a rat with a quill pen and a notebook, and a pet that looks like a dog with an owl head. They are all in a bookshop. Text reads: Bookshops & Bonedust Travis Baldree New York Times Bestselling Author." Cover blurb says: "'A warm hug of a book.'–T Kingfisher on Legends & Lattes."

Viv on How to Live

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BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Audiobook will bump it to 5. This honest, big-hearted orc knows what’s good. Wherever Viv is planted, she blooms. BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST by Travis Baldree (Tor/Macmillan, November 7, 2023) is a prequel to LEGENDS & LATTES (Tor/Macmillan, November 8, 2022), which proved that the Tiktok kids are sometimes

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