The Overbooked Bibliophile

  Rating: 3.5⭐ Stella Hudson, a best interest attorney by profession, is appointed as counsel for Rose Barclay, a nine-year-old girl whose parents are in the middle of a bitter divorce. Stella’s role is to determine the best custody arrangement for Rose, which entails interacting with Barclays and studying the dynamics within the family based on which a decision might be taken. Rose suffers from traumatic mutism – a condition that developed after she witnessed her twenty-six-year-old nanny, Tina de la Cruz, plunging to death from her window on the upper floor of the Barclays’ house. The circumstances surrounding Tina’s death remain a mystery and given Rose’s condition, her family – parents Ian and Beth and her grandmother, Harriet, are protective of Rose, to the extent that they would prefer to restrict Rose’s interaction with Stella. Stella, who had a traumatic childhood herself, has Rose’s best interests at heart and tries to earn Rose’s trust, but Rose’s strange behavior on more...

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Off the Books  by  Soma Mei Sheng Frazier  is a compelling read and an impressive debut. Twenty-four-year-old Mĕi L. Brown dropped out of Dartmouth after a family tragedy and has been working as a private chauffeur offering her services “going karura”  or “off the books” on the advice of her eighty-six-year-old Lǎoyé (grandfather) - an American history buff- who helps her find clients and who is her biggest ally, as she has distanced herself from her friends and is currently not speaking to her mother. Mei’s most recent client is the mysterious Henry Lee who is paying her handsomely for a trip from San Francisco to Syracuse. Henry’s insistence on timed stops and the enormous suitcase he guards diligently never letting it out of his sight strikes Mĕi as suspicious behavior and she turns to Lǎoyé for advice on how to proceed. His reassurance is enough for her to continue on her assignment and as the narrative progresses, she gradually befriends Henry a...

  Rating: 4.5⭐ Bestselling detective novelist  Emilia Ward,  lives a quiet life with her second husband and two children in a London suburb. Emilia is almost finished with her latest and possibly the final installment in her popular Miranda Moody series. Writing a best-selling series has been taxing and this last book has proved to be especially challenging. But truth becomes stranger than fiction for Emilia when an incident mirroring a scene from one of her books occurs in real life. This is not an isolated incident and it seems that someone is trying to send her a message using her own fiction against her. After a shocking incident that is eerily similar to a plot point from her unpublished manuscript, Emilia begins to suspect that the threat is closer to home since the draft was shared with a select few in her close circle and she begins to fear for her family’s safety. Does someone know Emilia’s secret – a truth that has been hidden from most in her close circle? Is s...

  Rating:4.5⭐ Inspired by true events, with elements of Gothic fiction, murder mystery, fantasy and magical realism woven into an immersive narrative,  The Nightingale's Castle  by  Sonia Velton  is a fascinating reimagining of the story of Erzsébet Báthory, the “Blood Countess", a sixteenth-century Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer who along with four of her servants were accused of torturing and murdering hundreds of young women. Set in Hungary, in 1610, the narrative is shared from multiple perspectives including Erzsébet, her trusted servants János Ficzkó Újváry, Ilona Jó Nagy, Dorottya Szentes and Katalin Beneczky, who also stood trial for their role in the murders as well as Borbála Boróka Libalány, a young girl who is brought into the Countess’s castle to serve her. Erzsébet takes a liking to Boróka, even allowing her to attend the sessions in the Gynaeceum. Boróka, raised by her adoptive father, never knew of her origins but discovers a myst...

  Rating:3.5⭐ Set in the remote South Calabrian village of Santa Chionia in 1960,  The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia  by  Juliet Grames . follows twenty-seven-year-old American (of Calabrian and Norwegian descent), Francesca Loftfield, and the time she spent in the village in her efforts to open a nursery school funded by an international charity. Francesca estranged from her husband after a personal loss, is an educated, idealistic young woman who, despite having led a sheltered life, is motivated to take the assignment in the remote rustic village. Her job entails opening a nursery school and enrolling thirty-six pupils while also recruiting suitable candidates as teachers from the local community - not an easy task, trying to have her voice heard among those in a tight-knit community with their set ways. Complicating matters further is the fact that a human skeleton was recently discovered under the rubble of the old post office after flooding and Francesca is approac...

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Well-written and laugh-out-loud funny with a cast of quirky characters,  Best Kept Village  by  Mart Capsticks  is an entertaining novel that revolves around the rivalry between two neighboring English villages in North Norfolk as they compete for first place in the Best Kept Village Competition. With active committees on both sides diligently planning and preparing for the competition round the year while also trying to keep tabs on their rivals, tensions are high in East Barton and West Barton. Matters are complicated further when both villages are victims of strategically timed acts of vandalism. With their carefully designed displays ruined just before the judges are scheduled to visit, both committees are quick to suspect the other and Sergeant Dale Richards is at his wit's end trying to maintain peace between the two rivals, while trying to find the person responsible for the damage. Frustrated with local law enforcement’s failure to apprehend the p...

Rating:  4.25⭐️ Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of reading Elizabeth Crook’s  The Madstone , which features then nineteen-year-old Benjamin Shreve as he recounts the sixteen-day odyssey across Reconstuction-era Texas and the perils he faces in his efforts to assist a stranded traveler and a pregnant woman and her young son. I found Benjamin to be an endearing character and was thrilled to find out that the author had previously penned a novel featuring Benjamin and his half-sister. I was eager to read  The Which Way Tree  and I’m glad to say that I was not disappointed! The narrative is presented in epistolary format through letters written by seventeen-year-old Benjamin in 1866, addressed to Judge E. Carlton, as a part of his testimony against one Clarence Hanlin, believed to be responsible for the murder of eight travelers. In the course of his testimony on his several encounters with Hanlin, Benjamin, excited to be able to share his story, drafts a series of...

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Edwina “Edie” Nunn is surprised to discover that she has inherited an old castle on a remote Scottish island as the only living descendent of the Maundrell family. Now in her late forties, Edwina, recently widowed, has never known her biological family, having been left at an orphanage as a baby. Her teenage daughter, Neve, is excited at the prospect of inheriting a castle and Edwina is eager to know more about her real family. Neither of them could have been prepared for the ghostly inhabitants (not all of whom are particularly friendly), the deep-buried secrets of the island and the tragic history of the Maundrell family, most of which occurred on Samhain. Nor were they prepared for the mystery behind the Maundrell Red – a diamond that went missing decades ago and, as legend has it, is responsible for the tragedy that befell the family. With Samhain quickly approaching, and the eerie occurrences intensifying, Edie and Neve soon discover that evil lurks in various manifest...

  Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An entertaining compilation of almost 3000 The New Yorker cartoons (1925-2017) organized according to theme! I enjoyed reading both the Foreword by David Remnick and the Introduction by Bob Mankoff. Perfect for light reading or as a palate cleanser or simply when you need a laugh! I read this one over a period of almost 3 years (1500+ pages) in between my other reads and enjoyed every minute of it!

  Rating:  2.5⭐️ “The first lie has to be the strongest. The most important. The one that has to be told” I found the premise of  First Lie Wins  by  Ashley Elston  to be truly intriguing. Evie Porter, a con artist who works for the mysterious “Mr. Smith” finds herself trapped in a complex web of manipulation as she works on her current mark, Ryan Sumner. Posing as Ryan’s girlfriend while passing on information about Ryan’s business to her boss should have been easy for her, given she has almost perfected her game over the years in Mr. Smith’s employ. However, her growing feelings for Ryan, her feelings of guilt for her deception and her desire for a different life than she has chosen (or the life that has chosen her?) and the added pressure that she is being closely monitored and failing her current task would result in dire consequences, complicate matters further and the situation begins to spiral out of Evie’s control. The beginning of the book drew me ...

  Rating: 3.75⭐ Hereford, 1881: Hecate Cavendish is excited to have secured a position as librarian’s assistant at Hereford Cathedral. Though her mother would prefer she direct her efforts toward finding a suitor, her father Edward Cavendish, an archaeologist by profession, is encouraging of his daughter's endeavors. Unbeknownst to Hecate she possesses a special gift – an ability to see and interact with the spirit world with a strong sense of paranormal activity – a gift she only becomes aware of when she encounters the friendly spirits roaming about in the cathedral. But much evil also lurks within those walls, spirits with sinister motives being unleashed into the community. As chaos ensues, Hecate will have to learn how to use her gift to protect everything and everyone she holds dear. With its intriguing premise, atmospheric setting and gothic vibes  The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish  by  Paula Brackston  is an engaging read. The author combines elements of ...

  Rating:  3.5⭐️ “For the women in our family, the ability to see a bright side and all that came with it was a near constant in our lives, first appearing almost two hundred years ago after a star fell from the sky onto family land. Legend was that somehow the fallen star with its special glow had given us the gift, and we felt honor bound to use it to bring light and hope and brightness to others.” Set in the small town of Starlight, Alabama,  A Certain Kind of Starlight  by  Heather Webber  is a charming story that revolves around themes of family, sisterhood, friendship and starting over. At the center of the story is sixty-four-year-old Verbena Fullbright, Aunt “Bean” to her nieces, half-sisters twenty-nine-year-old Addison “Addie” Fullbright and twenty-four-year-old Tessa Jane Cobb Wingrove Fullbright. Aunt Bean owns and runs the Starling Cake Company famous for its delectable treats that are believed to have special qualities that flood the taster wi...

Rating:⭐⭐⭐ In 2017, flood damage in a small Quebec town lead to the discovery of a child’s body that appears to be decades old. Locals suspect that the remains are that of Michelle Fortier, the nine-year-old daughter of an affluent family who disappeared in 1979. Stephanie O’Malley returns to her hometown of Marly, Quebec, after her career hits a downward spiral as a result of her failed podcast, which was based on Michelle’s case. Fifteen years ago, she had left Marly with hopes for a better future, leaving her mother Laura and high-school sweetheart Luc behind. Her relationship with her mother is strained and Luc has moved on. Stephanie keenly follows the renewed interest and investigation into the cold case in hopes of reviving her podcast. As the narrative progresses, Stephanie finds herself drawn into a complex web of lies, secrets and cover-ups. I found the premise of  The Last Thing She Saw  by  Nina Laurin  intriguing and appreciated the suspenseful vibe, the...

Rating: 4.5⭐️ An exceptionally well-crafted tribute to educators,  The Faculty Lounge  by  Jennifer Mathieu  follows an ensemble cast of characters, members of faculty and staff of (fictional) Baldwin High School in Houston, Texas, through the school year in the aftermath of the sudden death of Mr. Bob Lehrer, retired English teacher, in the teacher's lounge. Mr. Lehrer devoted his life to his profession, even choosing to work as a substitute teacher post- retirement, and the school authorities agree to honor his wish that his ashes be scattered on the school grounds. Unfortunately, on the day of the ceremony, everything doesn’t quite go as planned, resulting in a mishap, the consequences of which will be felt throughout the school year. Structured as a series of interconnected stories (each from the perspective of a different character) through the drama in the aftermath of “Ashgate” and their lives and challenges inside and outside of the classroom. Woven into thes...

  Rating:3.75⭐ With elements of historical fiction, folklore magical realism and contemporary love story,  The Story Collector  by  Evie Woods  is a beautifully written novel. Christmas Day, NYC, 2010: While waiting to board a flight to Boston to spend the holidays with her sister’s family, Sarah Harper is intrigued by a newspaper article on the ‘lore of a beautiful hawthorn tree in County Clare, Ireland. On an impulse, she decides to hop on a flight to Ireland and eventually ends up renting a cottage, Butler’s Cottage, in the same vicinity as the tree. Sarah is dealing with the collapse of her marriage and grieving a personal loss and hopes to find solace in the quiet setting of the cottage amid the beautiful surroundings. While exploring the area, she comes upon an old diary from 1910, belonging to Anne Butler. From Anne’s diary, Sarah not only learns about Anna’s family and her dreams and the history of Thornwood House, the ruins of which are still standing, ...

  Rating: 3.5⭐ June 2025 – Francesca Meadows is thrilled that her dream project “The Manor “-an exclusive wellness resort- is finally open. The Solstice celebration and the midnight revelries are in full swing, her affluent guests are in attendance being catered to by her carefully selected staff, a few of whom are local including Eddie whose family owns and operates a farm close by. Among the guests is Bella, who has a history with Francesca (who is initially unaware of Bella's presence) and whose decision to book a stay was based on an article sent by an unknown sender, who definitely knows their history. The resort was built on the Dorset coastline the premises Francesca inherited from her grandparents, and her husband, architect Owen Dacre was tasked with designing the luxurious resort. The resort is adjacent to a forest that holds special significance to the locals, who aren't too happy with the development and the fact that the owners have no respect for the ‘lore and bel...

  Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ “All books are magic. An object that can take you to another world without even leaving your room? A story written by a stranger and yet it seems they wrote it just for you or to you? Loving and hating people made out of ink and paper, not flesh and blood? Yes, books are magic. Maybe even the strongest magic there is.” Last year  The Wishing Game  was one of my favorite reads and I’m glad to say that with  The Lost Story , author  Meg Shaffer  does not disappoint. Set in the (fictional) Red Crow State Forest of West Virginia, the story follows our three protagonists Emilie Wendell, Jeremy Cox and Ralph "Rafe" Howell as they embark on a quest to find out what happened to Emilie’s long-lost sister Shannon, who, when thirteen, went missing from the area decades ago. Jeremy and Rafe are no strangers to the forest, having been found six months after disappearing while on a school trip fifteen years ago. What happened to them remains a mystery to...

Rating:4.5⭐ The Lion Women of Tehran  by  Marjan Kamali  was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed. “Shir zan. Lionesses. Us. Can’t you just see it, Ellie? Someday, you and me—we’ll do great things. We’ll live life for ourselves. And we will help others. We are cubs now, maybe. But we will grow to be lionesses. Strong women who make things happen.” Written in beautiful prose, this evocative story spans the 1950s through the 70s and 80s to the present day and follows Elaheh “Ellie” Soltani and Homa Roozbeh – girls from completely different backgrounds who meet in Tehran as seven-year-olds who become fast friends but drift apart - a cycle that continues as their lives intersect time and time again and their fates intertwine against the volatile backdrop of the Iranian Revolution and the decades that follow. The author addresses several important themes, including social class, feminism, women’s rights and political activism...