The Mystery of Three Quarters

 Fiction by Agatha Christie and Sophie Hannah

http://barnesandnoble.com

This book is one of a new series of Hercule Poirot books written by a modern author "in the style of" Agatha Christie. Sophie Hannah is apparently endorsed by the late author's estate, and she does a really good job of capturing the character of M. Poirot while coming up with her own story lines.

In this book, four strangers receive letter purporting to be from Hercule Poirot that accuse them of murdering a certain man, a man who died from what appeared to have been an accident. But M. Poirot had sent no such letters. Still, he will be enticed into investigating, of course.

This was a good story with a surprise ending.

I also read by this author: The Monogram Murders

Wanting Daisy Dead

 Fiction by Sue Watson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

It's been twenty years since Daisy Harrington died in her second year of university. Now her former housemates are being invited to celebrate what would have been her fortieth birthday by coming to a reunion at St. Luke's Campus, Exeter, and participating in a podcast called "The Killer Question."

And by "invited," I really mean "coerced;" each housemate receives a letter threatening to reveal the secret reason he or she wanted Daisy dead if they refuse to participate. And apparently, they ALL wanted Daisy dead. She was quite terrible, by all accounts.

This book was okay, but I didn't really like it. Every character was pretty unpleasant, and the convoluted plot stretched believability past its limits. But it WAS free.....

I also read recently by Amazon Prime Kindle: All the Lies

Wreck

 Fiction by Catherine Newman 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the sequel to Sandwich, which I read fairly recently. It was shorter, but similar to that book with strong believable characters and honest emotions, but not tons of actual plot. It also made made me vaguely sad, like its predecessor.

One thing I really liked about this sequel is that it showed how the relationship between Rachel, the protagonist, and her daughter Willa had grown closer; in the other book the child had been in a sulky-teenaged-I-prefer-dad stage that was heartbreaking for the mother. I loved seeing that.

The Secret Book Society

 Fiction by Madeline Martin

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In nineteenth-century England, women had few choices. Even highborn ladies with access to fortunes were subject to the whims of their husbands and fathers, and could be forced to obey these men. A woman could legally be bound to accept abuse, loss of autonomy, or even imprisonment, if the male in charge of her deemed it fit.

In this story, the Countess of Duxbury wants to do her small part to change that. She initiates the Secret Book Society and invites a very few close friends to join her is reading books together, book written by women like themselves. 

This was a pretty good book.

Too Old For This

 Fiction by Samantha Downing

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lottie Moore is an elderly woman who just wants to take it easy and be left alone in her old age. Unfortunately, when you have a criminal past, it can be difficult to truly relax. Complications can keep arising...

This book was surprisingly great fun! (Which you wouldn't expect, given that the protagonist is an old lady who happens to be a serial killer.)

I also read by this author: My Lovely Wife

The Soulmate Equation

 Fiction by Christina Lauren

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Jess Davis is doing fine at the beginning of this book. She has her loving grandparents, her daughter Juno, her best friend Fizzy, and her work-from-home consulting job. She's not really looking for love... but then she meets River Pena.

River is a hot guy who frequents Jess's local coffee shop and happens to own a company called GenteticAlly. This company claims they have discovered how to scientifically find your true soulmate! Will Jess and River find true love? Don't answer that; it's not the point. This book is good enough to make the reader (almost!) forget the predictable nature of romance novels.

This was a fun little straight romance, something this author team does very well.

I also read by this author: Something Wilder

The True Drama of the Gifted Child

Subtitled: The Phantom Alice Miller--The Real Person
Nonfiction by Martin Miller 

https://www.amazon.com

 Alice Miller was a Holocaust survivor who was born in Poland as Alicja Englard and lived through the German Occupation war years under the name Alicja Rostawska in order to hide her Jewish identity. She went on to earn a doctoral degree in psychology and to write several extremely influential books on the subject. I have only read a small amount of her writing personally, but I found in amazingly insightful.

In this book, her son Martin attempts to unravel the tragic mystery of how it is possible that Alice Miller, so kind and compassionate to patients and readers for many decades, was actually a neglectful and abusive parent to him and his sister. The only answer is that, like most of us, she simply could not escape her own life experiences, regardless of her intellectual ability. Alice was not capable of being a loving mother after what she had endured, and Martin is trying desperately in writing this book to understand that fact and forgive her shortcomings.

This was not an enjoyable book to read, and it had some stylistic problem as as well. The story itself is incredibly interesting, but (like most memoir writers) the author doesn't tell it in an interesting way. He casually reveals a whopper of a twist at the end, almost as an afterthought. I think Alice's true story would make a great book in the right hands, but this memoir is really about Martin and not his mother, whatever he intended.

Camila's Story

 Nonfiction by Louise Allen

https://www.amazon.com

I categorized this book as nonfiction because that's what it is supposed to be; however, it is at least half fiction. I like this author and her stories, but she writes about things that she can't possibly know the truth about as if they are facts. For example, much of this particular book is from the point of view of Camila's parents. It makes a good story, but it is not nonfiction.

That being said, this is still a pretty good story...

I also read by this author: Milo's Story

Stay

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1969, fourteen-year-old Lucas Painter discovers several new things: that he loves running, that his best friend is severely depressed, and that he (Lucas) can make a difference in the lives of others.

This was a lovely story with beautifully-drawn characters.

I also read recently by this author: Don't Let Me Go

Secrets at the Beach House

 Fiction by Diane Chamberlain

https://www.amazon.com

Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors, and this is her VERY FIRST book. It's been renamed and re-released (originally it was called Private Relations) but the foreword assures me that the author only added an epilogue and didn't change the original manuscript. I'm taking her word for that, since I can't verify it.

In this story, a young woman named Kit takes a new job at a hospital in a new town and moves into a large house in the beach with three other people who work at the same hospital: a married couple and another woman. 

There is a fourth roommate, a doctor, but he has been working abroad for a year, and Kit is decidedly nervous when he is due to come back. Everyone seems to love this guy so much, Kit knows, and she is worried that they won't hit it off. She is right to worry, because they actually hit it off a little too well and upset things in the house quite a bit.

This was a good character story, although it's not as wonderful as Diane Chamberlain's later books.

I also read by this author: Brass Ring

Ghost

 Fiction by Robert Harris

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This "ghost" in the name of this book isn't a noncorporeal entity. Instead, the title refers to a ghostwriter. 

In this story, former British prime minister Adam Lang has been paid an exorbitant sum for his memoirs and is running close to the deadline when his trusted-aide-tuned-ghostwriter apparently commits suicide with the book unfinished. At that point, our unnamed protagonist ("the Ghost"--get it?) gets the assignment, complete with a promise of a huge payoff if he delivers the finished work in thirty days.

But our friend the Ghost has an nearly impossible task ahead: not only is the existing manuscript terribly written, but also the subject of the memoirs is elusive, able to carry on long conversations without actually saying anything at all. Plus it's starting to look like the first ghostwriter didn't kill himself after all.

This was an interesting book with a surprise ending, but almost no sympathetic characters.

Missing Sister

 Fiction by Joshilyn Jackson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Penny's twin sister Nix died tragically five years ago, and Penny has been floundering ever since. Now she's embarking on a new career as a police officer, hoping to bring some kind of justice into the world and at least partially assuage her guilt for not being able to save her sister. 

But then she gets her very first murder case, and the victim is not a stranger. In fact it's one of the very people Penny holds morally responsible for Nix's death. Penny didn't kill him, obviously, but neither is she particularly interested in bringing the guy's killer to justice. She also wants to keep her new job... or does she?

This was a really good book, as expected from this fabulous author.

I also read by this author: The Opposite of Everyone

Dungeon Crawler Carl

 Audible Original Fiction by Matt Dinniman

https://www.audible.com

What if aliens took over our planet and killed most of the people, and then pitted the survivors against one another in a real-life role-playing video game, broadcast all over the galaxy for their entertainment?

Then you get Dungeon Crawler Carl, a crazily entertaining story of a human and his cat trapped in an underground world and trying to survive.

This was an exciting story that kept me guessing, and it had some very funny parts too!

I also listened to from Audible Originals: Don't Let Me Go

The Knockout Queen

 Fiction by Rufi Thorpe

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is about Bunny Lampert, an amazing girl who is tall and strong, beautiful and rich, but also insecure and nearly friendless. But Bunny does have one real friend, a boy named Michael who lives next door, relying on the tenuous goodwill of his aunt. Michael is fascinated by Bunny and cares deeply about being a good friend to her, but he is also quite preoccupied with staying safely in the closet in order to keep his place to live.

This is an incredibly good character story that makes the reader truly invested in both Bunny and Michael. I loved it, but it also was pretty heartbreaking.

I also read by this author: Margo's Got Money Troubles

The Kept Woman

 Fiction by Karin Slaughter

https://www.amazon.com

This is number EIGHT in the Will Trent series, which merged up with Grant County series back in book four (I think) and just kept going. GBI Agent Will is still dating medical examiner Sara Linton (protagonist of the previous series) at the beginning of this story, but trouble is coming...

Will not-quite-ex-wife Angie is coming back to stir things up, and there's been a body found in an abandoned building in downtown Atlanta. Plus, Will has failed to make a rape charge stick to a famous athlete; his months of hard work failed to overcome the mountain of money thrown at the case by the athlete's management. Could all of these things end up being connected?

This was an exciting mystery with several surprises.

I also read recently by this author: Criminal

The Rest of Her Life

 Fiction by Laura Moriarty

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this book, 18-year-old Kara accidentally hits a pedestrian on her way home from the last day of her senior year of high school. The victim, a girl named Bethany who is two years behind Kara at the same school, is killed instantly. Also instantly, Kara's life is forever changed.

The story is told from the perspective of Kara's mother Leigh, and the focus is on the relationships in the family, and the relationships between the family and the small town they live in. It's a very good character story that gives the reader a lot to think about.

I also read by this author: The Chaperone

If We Make it Home

 Fiction by Christina Suzann Nelson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a good story about a group of college friends who reunite after 25 years and then inexplicably go on a survival trip together in Oregon wilderness. I liked the characters a lot.

I also read by this author: What Happens Next

The Eden Pruitt Series

The Fabrication of Eden Pruitt, The Aberration of Eden Pruitt, The Revelation of Eden Pruitt, and The Retribution of Eden Pruitt
Fiction by K.E. Ganshert

https://www.amazon.com https://www.amazon.com 

https://www.amazon.com https://www.amazon.com

This is a fast-paced thriller of a series with a lot of plot twists. Book one introduces us to Eden Pruitt, who has about to turn eighteen as has just moved from California to Iowa to start her senior year. But on her first day at her new school a bunch of weird things happen, culminating in the disappearance of her parents and her discovery that she has (sort-of) super powers. Plus she's met a hot boy named Cassian, who could be a helpful friend or a dangerous enemy...

I don't want to give away too much because things change throughout the books, and almost everything after the first few chapters of book one would be a spoiler. This is a good series from an author I had never heard of.

I Have Some Questions For You

 Fiction by Rebecca Makai

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1995, Bodie Kane was a senior at Granby School, a posh New Hampshire academy for wealth adolescents. Bodie had always felt like an outsider at Granby, because she was not a rich kid; she was a charity case with a tragic family backstory she kept hidden as much as possible. 

Then her former roommate Thalia was murdered near the end of the school year. A suspect was caught and convicted quickly, but doubts about his guilt persisted after his incarceration, especially when Dateline did a special on the case ten years later. Online speculation about the murder persisted for many years.

Now it's 2018 and Bodie is a podcaster. She has been invited to come back to Granby and teach a two-week course, and she thinks maybe now is the time to look into Thalia's murder for real. Since she's always felt she's too close to the case to do a podcast on it herself, Bodie manipulates a student to take on the subject. Will they uncover the truth?

This book had an interesting premise and some decent characters but it was way too long and slow. It did pick up during the last third of the book.

Soulmate

Fiction by Sally Hepworth

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Pippa and Gabe live with their two little daughters on the Australian coast in a house with a breathtaking view. Unfortunately, they also live right next to cliff which is a popular spot for suicide jumpers. In the year or so they've been living there, seven people have come to the cliff's edge, and seven times Gabe has patiently talked them out of killing themselves. 

Gabe is incredibly good-looking, sensitive, kind, and full of fun, and it seems everyone longs to be his friend. In contrast, Pippa sees herself as kind of pedestrian, a caretaking type who prefers staying the background of life. But it's Pippa who earns the money for the family and who carefully monitors Gabe's emotions and keeps him stable.

But then the eighth person comes to the cliff's edge, the person who will succeed in jumping. This event really throws Pippa and Gabe, and exposes the cracks in their marriage that have been brewing for years.

This was a great story, as I would expect from Sally Hepworth!

I also read by this author: Darling Girls

Convenience Store Woman

Fiction by Sayaka Murata
Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Okay, number one: Is this the cutest book cover you've ever seen, or what?

This was an interesting short novel about a woman called Keiko who seems to have some form of undiagnosed autism, and who works at a convenience store, of course. Keiko loves working at the store and doesn't understand why everyone thinks it's not normal to keep doing the same part-time, "dead-end" job for eighteen years.

Keiko feels safe and at home in the store, where the expectations are clear, but she is less comfortable in the outside world, where people seem to have so many unwritten rules about who she "should" be. Even her family hope for her to be "cured" so she can be "normal," which apparently means: Get a real job and pursue a career, and/or get married and start a family.

I loved the character of Keiko! I just wanted to jump into the book, give her a hug, and tell her it's okay to just be who you are. But of course she has to figure that out for herself...

I recommend this quick-read novella! I did wish it were longer.

Rachel Weiss's Group Chat

 Fiction by Lauren Applebaum

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this book, Rachel Weiss wakes up on New Year's Day with a hangover from the night before, a strange guy in her bed, and a new determination to generally try to be more responsible this year. After all, she'll be thirty soon. Maybe it's time to think about trying to settle down with a nice Jewish boy like her mother wants her to.

But then it turns out that what her mother actually wants is for Rachel to marry the rich young man whose parents just moved in next door! Christopher Butkus, as he is unfortunately named, is everything Mrs. Weiss wants for her daughter Rachel, regardless of whatever it is that Rachel wants. 

Told through narrative and the titular group chap (with Rachel and her friends Sumira, Eva, and Amy), this story is funny and has good characters. It's a straight romance done well.

Endless Night

 Fiction by Agatha Christie

https://www.audible.com

Mike and Ellie are a charming young couple who fall in love and get together to build their dream house in the English countryside. But unfortunately they seem to be threatened from all sides. There are Ellie's interfering, money-grasping relatives; and there's a creepy gypsy woman in the neighborhood who insists they have built on cursed land; and then there's Greta, the woman Ellie believes is her best friend but whom Mike is suspicious of.

This is probably one of Agatha Christie's best books. There is no detective, and the murder doesn't even take place until close to the end of the book, but it's still a first-class mystery.

The amazing thing is, I actually remembered exactly how the story ended (and who had "dunnit"), but was still able to enjoy the re-read.

I also read recently by this author: Postern of Fate

Memoir of a Milk Carton Kid

 Nonfiction by Tanya Nicole Kach and Lawrence Fisher

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1996 Tanya Kach was a fourteen-year-old girl from a troubled home. Her emotionally distant father had written off her mentally ill mother after a difficult divorce, and he actively tried to keep Tanya from seeing her mom. Meanwhile, he had remarried and abdicated responsibility for Tanya to his new wife, whom Tanya hated. Tanya was looking for love and acceptance, and for a parental figure.

Unfortunately, she found Tom Hose, a security guard at the middle school (!!!!) who took an interest in her, convinced to come home with him, and kept her locked up in his upstairs room for ten years. (!!!!!!!!)

This is a true story, as unbelievable as it sounds, about a girl who thought maybe nobody cared about her, a predator who convinced her it was definitely true, and a bunch of authority figures (teachers and cops) who looked the other way and didn't try very hard to help.

Her lawyer and co-writer Lawrence Fisher has been working for years to help Tanya reintegrate into society, and get some justice from a system that failed her. It's an interesting story but pretty hard to read because of how sad it is.

Margo's Got Money Troubles

 Fiction by Rufi Thorpe

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

There is a movie out right now based on this book and I saw the trailer. It seemed to be about a young woman (Margo, obviously) struggling to take care of her new baby on her own. The only "support" she has is her mother, who insists that the baby (her grandchild!) hates her and won't stop crying, so she absolutely cannot babysit at all. Margo loses her job, and her roommates are moving out which doubles her rent... hence the aforementioned money troubles.

I don't know about the movie but the book is really good. The titular character Margo writes in an interesting mix of first and third person. The characters were well written and completely believable. I enjoyed this book a lot and will likely look for more by this author.