The Overbooked Bibliophile

  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 timelines (“Now” and “The

  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 politician. Izzy, a m

  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. We follow Mik

  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, planting flowers/decor

  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 publishing houses and that

  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 meet Holcomb a

  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 daughter Lindsay takes matters into

  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. The premise is intriguing

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sandwich  by  Catherine Newman  follows fifty-four-year-old Rachel or “Rocky” as is called by those close to her, over the course of her annual family trip to Cape Cod. We meet her husband Nick, her adult children – daughter Willa, son Jamie and his girlfriend Maya and her elderly parents also join them for a few days in their rental cottage. There is a lot to manage and Rocky is the middle of it all. We follow her as she navigates the demands of her family, her own struggles with bouts of melancholy and mood swings (not to mention the hot flashes) brought on by menopause and is often overwhelmed by memories of the years gone by – some happy and some not so much. The narrative is presented from Rocky’s first-person PoV and spans a week in the characters’ lives, with past events being shared as flashbacks as present-day events evoke nostalgia and Rocky is reminded of past events. The pacing is on the slower side, which suits the nature of the story. This is a story about wha

  Rating:3.5⭐ Book: 3⭐ Audiobook: 4⭐ As the novel begins, we meet twenty-eight-year-old Emlyn, who makes a living as a hunting and fishing guide in Idaho. She lives a simple life, keeping busy with her work and living alone in her Airstream. Her closest companions are Varden, a Forest Service Ranger and the makeshift reverend “Rev” who took her in after a particularly traumatic episode in her life. Emlyn is forced to confront a painful episode from her past when her former boyfriend Tyler asks for her help to find Janessa, a #vanlife social media star who was once Emlyn’s closest friend and who has gone missing with her boyfriend, both of whom work with Tyler, while on their latest trip. Her relationship with Tyler had ended three years ago when he had abandoned her, leaving her freezing and fighting for her life, on the side of the road. Janessa had once been Emlyn’s closest friend, but their friendship became strained after Emlyn embarked on a relationship with Tyler, who was Janessa

  Rating:  4.5⭐️ Laugh-out-loud funny and heartwarming, featuring a diverse cast of characters (including a charming dog named Maggie Thatcher),  How to Age Disgracefully  by  Clare Pooley  is a delightful read that will touch a chord in your heart. As she approaches her seventieth birthday, reclusive Daphne decides to make some changes to the way she leads her life. For starters, she decides to be more sociable, which motivates her to join the Senior Citizens Social Club at the local Community Centre. Daphne isn’t the easiest person to be around – secretive and opinionated – she’s off to a bumpy start but gradually makes friends with the other members - Art (and his friend William who often joins the group activities), Ruby and Anna– a diverse group of people, each of whom is dealing with their own difficulties in life, including fifty-three-year-old Lydia, who runs the group. An empty nester whose husband mostly ignores her has,she just started in her new role and wasn’t prepared for

Set in 1311 England,  Book #4  in  Lee Swanson' s  No Man Is Her Master  series follows the adventures of Christina Kohl (who has assumed the identity of her brother Frederick), a Hanseatic merchant who has earned the favor of King Edward II for her valor. As the novel begins, we find Christina and her lady love, the widowed Lady Cecily Baldewyne, who is a member of Queen Isabella’s court planning to ask for permission to marry. They are hopeful given they enjoy the favor of the King and Queen. However, the King, troubled by the rising civil unrest in his kingdom, requires the services of his trusted “Sir Frederick”, so their wedding plans will need to be put on hold. We follow Christina as she embarks on a series of tasks including defending a castle under threat of being occupied by the Barons and being entrusted with the safety of Piers Gaveston who the King is trying to protect from the Lords Ordainers who have demanded his banishment. Aided by Sir Giles, Reinikin, Alan and Jos

  Rating: 3.5⭐️ With complex characters and an immersive setting,  Middletide  by  Sarah Crouch  is an interesting character-driven novel with an intriguing mystery at its core. Set in the small town of Point Orchards, Washington, the novel begins in 1994 with the discovery of the body of Dr. Erin Landry hanging from a tree on the property of Elijah Leith. Elijah had been living alone in his late parents’ cabin after returning to his hometown in 1988, after his first novel failed to launch his literary career. Elijah hopes to rekindle his relationship with his former high school sweetheart, Nakita, whom he had left to pursue his dreams of becoming an author, breaking his promise to return after four years. Nakita, grieving the recent loss of her husband, isn’t quite ready to move on. Elijah was also friends with Dr. Landry, whose marriage collapsed after the death of her young daughter in a road accident. Erin’s death is initially ruled a suicide, but when Sheriff Jim Godbout discovers

Rating:⭐⭐ A group of seven decide to spend the night before graduation in the basement of William E. Woodend Rare Books Library in Vermont to participate in a ritual that they believe will set them free from the fear of death. Of the seven, three of them are students working as assistants in the library each hoping to secure the one permanent position being offered after graduation; another is a PhD student/TA who frequents the library for his research and also convinces one of his students to bring along a friend who would supply the drugs they would need for the ritual; and the other is a socially awkward scientist who is involved in a project for the library. After the library closes for the day, they lock themselves in the basement and commence with the ritual. In a shocking turn of events, one of them suddenly dies and the other, unable to exit the building with scheduled routine maintenance rendering them unable to communicate with anyone on the outside, are left to fend for them

Rating:  3.5⭐️ I found the premise of  Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder  by  Asako Yuzuki  (translated by  Polly Barton ) to be truly intriguing. The plot revolves around Rika Machida, a thirty-three-year-old journalist who pursues a story on the suspected serial killer, Manako Kajii who enticed men she met on dating sites with her lavish cooking and extracted huge sums of money from them. After three of her suitors were found dead under mysterious circumstances, the now thirty-five-year-old Kajii was found guilty and is currently awaiting her second trial after appeal while being held in a detention facility. Initially reluctant to talk to Rika, she agrees to meet her after Rika expresses her interest in Kajii’s cooking. Though Kajii refuses to talk about the case, she is more than eager to share her views on food (butter being an integral ingredient in her recipes) and as the narrative progresses, we follow how Rika’s approach to life, her worldview, and of course, her relationship

  Rating: 4.5⭐ “I feel nostalgic, nostalgic for what I’ve not yet lived.” Set in the small town of Milly, France,  Forgotten on Sunday  by  Valérie Perrin  (translated by  Hildegarde Serle ) revolves around twenty-one-year-old Justine Neige, a nursing assistant working at a retirement home named The Hydrangeas. Justine is an orphan, raised by her grandparents with her cousin Jules, after their parents perished in a road accident when they were children. She is close to Jules, whom she considers more her brother than cousin. In terms of personal relationships, she chooses to indulge in casual flings and consciously shies away from deeper romantic relationships. She genuinely enjoys her job caring for the elderly and spends much of her time listening to their stories. She is particularly close to ninety-six-year-old Hélène Hel. Encouraged by Hélène’s grandson, Justine begins to write Hélène’s story – her love for Lucien, the WWII years, and the events and choices that shaped Hélène and L

  Rating:  4.5⭐️ Dark, gritty and certainly not for the faint of heart,  The Borrowed Hills  by  Scott Preston  is a stunning debut. The novel opens in the Cumbrian fells in 2001 and revolves around the lives of the sheep farmers whose fortunes take a turn for the worse when their flocks are afflicted by foot and mouth disease. Among the farms affected is a smallholding belonging to Steve Elliman’s father. Steve, our narrator, had left his family home in search of other opportunities but returned to help his elderly father. But when his flock is afflicted by the deadly disease, he is forced to conform to government regulations. He meets William Herne, the owner of a larger farm. William managed to separate his sick sheep from his healthy flock by hiding them away. Steve tries to help him, but they are unable to save the flock. Steve leaves but returns after he receives news of the death of his father. William is now embroiled with a shady character by the name of Colin Tinley, with who