The Overbooked Bibliophile

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ I loved the premise of  Ivan, Boris and Me  by  Suze Leonie . The story revolves around twenty-five-year-old artist/children's book illustrator Elodie Ginsburg and her clown Boris, who has been her closest companion ever since she was four years old. Elodie lives with Boris, who creates much chaos in her life, in the house she inherited from her late grandmother. She is not particularly close to her family, who don't approve of her career choices. When she strikes up a friendship with her new neighbor Ivan Lennard, a former professional cyclist who is also dealing with his own life problems, she notices Boris behaving even more erratically than usual. As the narrative progresses we follow Elodie as she navigates her budding friendship with her new neighbor, her strained relationship with her family especially her mother who is critical of everything Elodie does and the shift in her her dynamic with Boris. The novel touches upon themes of loneliness, emotional ...

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ " Here in Tokyo’s neighborhood of secondhand bookstores is our little bookshop. It’s full of little stories. And it holds within its walls the thoughts and hopes and feelings of a great many people.” It was wonderful to revisit Tokyo’s Jimbocho neighborhood and the Morisaki Bookshop once again, the story picks up with Takako, her uncle Satoru and Satoru’s wife Momoko who has returned to her husband after years apart. Takako is now gainfully employed in a design studio, having moved on from the events described in the previous book and is now in a new relationship. Satoru and Momoko are running the bookshop, but Takako often spends her free time at the ship and fondly remembers the time she spent living in the apartment above. The narrative follows the joys, sorrows and struggles of these characters, their friends and their customers as they go about leading their daily lives. But when tragedy strikes, it is up to Takako to remind her uncle how important the bookstore i...

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ The second book in Rob Rinder’s  Adam Green Mystery  series begins with the murder of a popular television presenter captured on live television. Jessica Holby, co-host of “Wake Up Britain!”, dies from anaphylactic shock after tasting a dish prepared by celebrity chef Sebastian Brooks, a regular guest on the show. Brooks is the prime suspect after it is discovered that the dish was laced with an ingredient to which it was public knowledge that Jessica was allergic. Though he is expected to watch and learn as they prepare for the upcoming trial, it soon becomes clear to Adam Green, now a Junior Barrister, that there might be more to the case than meets the eye and as he pursues his deep dive into Jessica’s life and her associates, it is gradually revealed that Jessica had a fair share of people in her life who possibly held a grudge. Adam is also asked by one of his seniors to help on another trial involving a teenager found in possession of illegal weapons and whos...

Rating:  4.5+⭐️ The fourth installment in Michael Robotham’s  Cyrus Haven  is a dark, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and incredibly moving read and a worthy addition to the series. Years ago, Evie Cormac, then a child of eleven/twelve, was rescued from a room in a home where she had been hiding, where she witnessed a man brutally tortured to death. No one knew who she was or how she came to be in that room. In the years since, Cyrus Haven, a forensic psychologist and profiler who works with law enforcement, has helped Evie in her efforts to deal with her trauma and has been a supportive presence. Her true identity and what she has endured are no longer a mystery, but there are memories of her earlier life and how she fell into the hands of her abusers that have yet to be recovered. Evie is now twenty-two years and though she has been able to move forward, she is still haunted by the traumatic events in her past. Evie’s memories of certain events are vague, but she is trigger...

Rating:  4.5⭐️ I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in the author’s  Cyrus Haven  series and I’m glad to say  Lying Beside You  by  Michael Robotham  does not disappoint! When he was nineteen, Elias Haven, Cyrus’s older brother, murdered their twin sisters and parents, acting on the instigation of the voices in his head. Twenty years after he was incarcerated at Rampton Secure Hospital – a psychiatric facility, where he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Elias is about to be released and Cyrus has mixed feelings about Elias’s impending return and the possible disruption to his life and is concerned about how Evie, who now twenty-one years old, is struggling to bring a sense of normalcy into her life and now lives in Cyrus’s home, would react to Elias being there. Evie is currently back in school, studying for her A Levels, and also working in a local bar but after the trauma she has endured and her ability to tell when a person is lying doe...

  Rating:  4.5⭐️ Fast-paced and suspenseful with superb character development and a gripping narrative,  When She Was Good  by  Michael Robotham  is a worthy sequel to the first book in the author’s  Cyrus Haven  series. As the novel begins, Evie is once again at Langford Hall, waiting to turn eighteen (officially, as per court records) and hopefully be released as an adult. The details of Evie’s true identity and the events that led to her being found seven years ago in a hidden room in a house where a man had been brutally murdered remain a mystery. She now considers forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven a friend but has not shared what she remembers of her past with him. Cyrus, haunted by his own tragic past, is concerned for Evie and seeks out Sacha Hopewell, the constable who initially found Evie, hoping that she might be able to shed light on the events that led to her discovery – facts that the police reports might have missed. Cyrus is also ca...

  Rating:  4.5⭐ “None would yet know of the evolving tragedy that would be their lives.” 1975, Monta Clare, Missouri: An act of bravery becomes a defining point in the lives of thirteen-year-old Joseph “Patch” Macauley and those close to him. As the narrative progresses, we follow Patch, his best friend Saint and Misty, the girl he saved, and the important people in their lives and their community for over two decades. While the dynamics within the once close-knit community will never be the same again, the trauma they experience as children follows Patch, Saint and Misty through the years, manifesting in the choices they make and leaving them to grapple with the consequences that follow. All the Colors of the Dark  i s my third  Chris Whitaker   novel after  We Begin at the End , which remains my favorite to date, and  Tall Oaks. In his latest offering, the author has woven elements of literary fiction, coming-of-age, a love story and a crime procedur...

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The first book in Michael Robotham’s  Cyrus Haven  series introduces us to “Evie Cormac” (not her real name), assumed to be around seventeen years old, who was found six years ago hiding in a secret room in an old house in the aftermath of a brutal murder. Dubbed “Angel Face”, nobody knows who she is, no one came forward to claim her and DNA searches haven't yielded any results. Evie is currently a resident in a high-security children's home in Nottingham, where she meets Dr. Cyrus Haven, a forensic psychologist with a tragic past, who works as a profiler for law enforcement. Cyrus is visiting Langford Hall to study Evie’s case and help determine whether her plea to be released as an adult should be granted. Evie possesses a special gift – she can tell when anyone is lying to her face – a facet that fascinates Cyrus, his doctoral research having been based on “truth wizards”. Cyrus is sympathetic to Evie’s plight and is motivated to help her, but Evie is naturally...

  Rating:3.5⭐ Jolene Vero has spent the last ten years consumed by guilt over her role in an accident that left her school friend Elizabeth Smith grievously injured. After spending years moving from place to place, career to career, unable to settle down, she moves to Berkley prepared for a fresh start. What she wasn’t prepared for, however, was meeting Elizabeth again. Elizabeth, still bearing the physical scars of her accident, tells her that she has no recollection of how the accident happened and proceeds to befriend Jolene. Jolene is initially uneasy but wants to believe Elizabeth. Is she being paranoid? Should she listen to the voices in her head? Is it her own guilt that’s making her suspect Elizabeth’s hand in the strange things happening to her, or does Elizabeth know more than she is letting on? There is a lot about  Like It Never Was  by  Faith Gardner  that is praiseworthy. The narrative, presented from Jolene’s first-person POV in past and present t...

  Rating: 4.5⭐ Set in the mid-1990s, in the small Irish town of Ardglas, County Donegal,  The Coast Road  by Alan Murrin tells the story of three women navigating troubled marriages in an era before divorce was legalized. Colette Crowley, a published poet, has returned from Dublin after a failed love affair. Married with three children, she is separated from her husband Shaun, whom she left after falling in love with another man. She is eager to reconnect with her children, but her husband is not allowing her to do so. With no income and no place to live, she rents a cottage near the coast, from Donal and Dolores Mullen. Dolores has three children and is expecting her fourth. Her husband is mostly critical of her and does not extend her much kindness. Despite being aware of her husband’s infidelity, she has no option but to turn a blind eye to his affairs. Colette also starts writing classes where she strikes up a friendship with Izzy Keaveney, the wife of a local politic...

  Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ “You are the curator of your story in every choice you make “ A compilation of Portuguese illustrator Luis Coelho’s panel drawings featuring his signature adorable ink illustrations of cats and full of positive affirmations,   encouraging words of wisdom and loads of wit and humor, <b> The Book of Purrs: Everyday Thoughts from Your Feline Friends</b> is a fun read and a charming ode to the how our furry friends can be a source of positive energy in our lives! I loved the artwork which was intricate yet simple and soothing. This is a simple book , one that might not inspire deep reflection (no offense to our feline friends!),   but irrespective of whether you are a cat person or not, the witty feline wisdom and gentle reminders to be kinder to oneself could be just what you need to put a smile on your face when you are feeling overwhelmed! Purrfectly delightful,   this is a book that I would want to revisit! My favorite quote: <i...

  Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Book #15 in Paul Doiron’s  Mike Bowditch  series begins with our protagonist, an investigator with the Maine Warden Service being informed of an armed man inquiring into the whereabouts of a father and daughter residing in the area. Correctly guessing that the father-daughter in question is the reclusive Mark Redmond and his twelve-year-old daughter Cady, who is never seen in public, Mike begins to suspect that there is more to the situation than meets the eye. Mike and his father-in-law, retired chief warden pilot Charley Stevens, approach Josie, a friend of Charley’s, who recently hired Mark to build a cabin near Prentiss Pond, to help establish contact with Mark. Josie, who considers Mark a friend and is protective of Cady, reluctantly agrees to help and takes them to where Redmond and Cady are camped. In a shocking twist, their meeting with Mark and Cady takes a dark turn as it becomes evident that Mark is harboring secrets that he would kill to protect....

  Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Garden of Memories  by  Amanda James  is an uplifting story that revolves around themes of friendship and community, self-discovery and personal growth, new beginnings and the therapeutic power of nature. Widowed after her husband Glen passed two years ago and with her daughter Bella busy with her own family, sixty-two-year-old Rose Lanyon is trying to figure out how to fill her days after retiring from her nursing career of forty years. Rose finds herself drawn to her garden, which used to be Glen’s pride and joy. As she begins to tend to her garden, she is comforted by happy memories and soon her garden begins to attract the attention of friends, neighbors and new acquaintances – among whom are her childhood friend Daisy, her former colleague Sally and her neighbor Flora, a retired schoolteacher - who share their own memories and/or knowledge of gardening with her. With Rose’s encouragement, they begin to participate in the care of the garden, pla...

  Rating: 4.5⭐ With exquisite prose, dark humor, complex characters and a gripping narrative that revolves around themes of grief, trauma, fatherhood, racial identity and legacy, I found  Devil Is Fine  by  John Vercher  hard to put down. As the novel begins, we meet our unnamed narrator/protagonist, a biracial author born to a White mother and Black father, grappling with the recent loss of his teenage son Malcolm. When he inherits a plot of land from his estranged maternal grandfather, he wants nothing to do with the property and travels south to initiate all necessary formalities for its sale. However, a routine inspection of the land leads to a shocking discovery. As the dark history of the land and his ancestors is gradually revealed, our protagonist is traumatized by the implications. Adding to his grief and pain are his strained personal relationships and the stress brought on by the fact that his latest manuscript isn’t generating much interest among pub...

  Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Well-written with an intriguing premise and superb characterization,  What You Leave Behind  by Wanda M. Morris is a gripping read. The story revolves around thirty-nine-year-old Deena Wood, who recently moved back to her childhood home in Brunswick, Georgia, where she lives with her father and his new wife, Ruth. The move hasn’t been easy for Deena. She is still grieving the loss of her mother and her recent divorce and having to move back home and take up an unfulfilling job after being fired from her position as a litigator in a prestigious law firm in Atlanta hasn’t been a pleasant experience. On a day trip to the south Georgia Coast to clear her mind, she encounters Holcomb Gardner, who looks to be in his seventies living in a trailer, who claims she is trespassing on his property – land that he jointly owned with his sister Delilah. Deena is curious and on looking into the details, discovers that Delilah is recently deceased and when she attempts to ...

  Rating:  4.5⭐️ I loved Kirsten Miller’s  The Change  and was eager to read her latest offering. Well-crafted, satirical and humorous (with several laugh-out-loud moments), but also hard-hitting,  Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books  by  Kirsten Miller  is an engaging read. “Gather as much knowledge as you can, because information is power. And choosing how to use it is freedom. The more you know, the freer you will be.” Set in the small town of Troy, Georgia, the novel revolves around tensions that arise from one of the townspeople’s missions to ban books that are deemed inappropriate – a mission she has successfully executed resulting in the removal of said books from the public library. Lula Dean also sets up her own lending library with hopes of circulating what she considers acceptable books among the townspeople. Beverly Underwood, also a lifelong resident of Troy and on the school board, vehemently opposes Lula’s actions. Beverly’s ...

  Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Book: 3.5⭐ Audio Narration: 4.5⭐ When librarian Martha Ratliff, begins to suspect her husband Alan Peralta, a traveling salesman by profession to whom she has been married for a little over a year, of being a serial killer, she reaches out to Lily Kintner, an old friend from graduate school, for help. When they were students, Lily had once helped Martha get out of a difficult situation. Lily, despite having lost touch with Martha after graduation, agrees to help her. The narrative follows Lily and Martha as they dig deeper into Alan’s life. When their “investigation“ takes a dark turn, Lily turns to P.I. Henry Kimball for assistance. The Kind Worth Killing  r emains my favorite  Peter Swanson  novel to date, and I thoroughly enjoyed following Lily Kintner and Henry Kimball in  The Kind Worth Saving . Needless to say, I was eager to read the author’s latest offering. The narrative is presented from the perspectives of Martha, Lily and the killer. Th...