Puck by Samantha Allen

Reviewed by Kristin 

Puck is a queer non-binary thirty-year-old who has made great strides in their career as the producer of “Homewreckers.” Puck is good at their job, and that includes being able to manipulate people. A reality dating show wouldn’t be nearly as much entertainment if the contestants were allowed to find and stay with their true loves, right? Enter the exes, ideally placed to disrupt and blow up relationships. 

Taking a rare break from the show, Puck is attending the wedding of their old best friend and roommate, Mia, to another of their college friend group, Damon. But Mia used to date Zander, Damon’s best friend, and Lena used to have a huge crush on Damon, and Puck takes it upon themself to stop Mia and Damon’s wedding, thus saving Mia from a lifetime of misery. As mentioned before, Puck likes pulling the marionette strings and interfering in others’ lives. 

Impeding Puck’s theatrics is Robyn, the rigidly scheduled maid of honor who is absolutely determined that this wedding will happen. Puck is intrigued by Robyn, despite the obvious problems the attraction creates. 

I absolutely loved this new release from the author of Patricia Wants to Cuddle  and Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet. The characters feel like real people who are trying to find their place in the adult world with relationships, careers, and societal expectations. Mia is trying to fit into Damon’s family’s wealth and status. Zander is newly sober, and making a name for himself as a chef. Puck is Puck, with all the Shakespearean drama their chosen name evokes. 

Puck may start out as a planner and master manipulator, but they learn much during the course of this episode, I mean, book. They grow as a person, and as they say, all’s well that ends well. 

Nevermore: The White Album, Guardian and a Thief, Yellowface

Nevermore 6-30-26

Reported by Rita

 

The White Album by Joan Didion

From a jailhouse visit to Black Panther Party cofounder Huey Newton to witnessing First Lady of California Nancy Reagan pretend to pick flowers for the benefit of news cameras, Didion captures the paranoia and absurdity of the era with her signature blend of irony and insight. She takes readers to the “giddily splendid” Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the cool mountains of Bogotá, and the Jordanian Desert, where Bishop James Pike went to walk in Jesus’s footsteps—and died not far from his rented Ford Cortina. She anatomizes the culture of shopping malls—“toy garden cities in which no one lives but everyone consumes”—and exposes the contradictions and compromises of the women’s movement. In the iconic title essay, she documents her uneasy state of mind during the years leading up to and following the Manson murders—a terrifying crime that, in her memory, surprised no one. 

This book was quite relatable and nostalgic. I enjoyed it and recommend it.     -PP      5 stars

 

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

Set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other. Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma's husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma's purse, containing their treasured immigration documents, has been stolen. Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma's frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. How far will they go to secure their children's future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe? 

I thought this was well-done and very engrossing.     -AH     5 stars

 

 

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Authors Juniper Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena is a literary darling while June is a nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls?, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse, stealing Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees. But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

This was interesting but I found the plot unbelievable and the narcissistic main character hard to like.       -DC       3 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

Sooley by John Grisham

Every Victory Counts by Sierra M. Farris

The Maid's Tale: The Remarkable True Story of One English Maid's Life Below the Stairs by Tom Quinn

The Foursome by Christine Baker Cline

The Company of Owls by Polly Atkins

Hazel's Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells

Travels with Agatha Christie by David Suchet

 

 

New Books

 

American Rambler by Isaac Fitzgerald

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim

The Wish by Heather Morris

Death on the Lanai by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

Roots Branches & Spirits: The Folkways of Appalachian Witchery by H. Byron Ballard

Reviewed by Jeanne

There have been a number of books on Appalachian folk magic, remedies, and lore in the past few years, so I was not surprised to see another one pop up.  What did surprise me was the call number, but I am not a cataloger so we will let that go.

I was also surprised by the somewhat lengthy but very interesting discussion of the history of the region and how “cultural strip mining” has affected the land and its inhabitants.  She also is careful to denote that Appalachia isn’t a single place, made up of just one sort of people; it is a diverse region. 

She rather eases the reader into the concepts of mountain magic and spiritualty, tossing in a meditation here and a bit of folklore there (a lot of mast means a bad winter, for instance) before moving into the “witchery” part. 

Even that is accompanied by information on various aspects of the environment, life, folklore, and folkways.  For example, she discusses music and gives examples of work songs as being forms of incantations: “Churn butter churn!/ Come butter come!/ A little good butter/Is better than none” is also a charm to keep spirits from stealing the butter. She traces the song back to 1650, noting how far and well it has traveled.

The rest of the book is divided up by topics such as Mountain Kitchen Witchery, Healing and Herb Lore, Signs and Omens, and such.  The author gives a great deal of context and background for each item, which I really enjoy.  She covers some use of plants, making dolls, salves, tinctures, and other items—some with magical overtones, some not. I especially liked the discussion of how to make cornbread, in which the author notes that there are those who sweeten cornbread and those who don’t, and never the twain shall meet.  (I once worked with a person who averred, “If God had meant for there to be sugar in cornbread, He’d have called it cake.”)

The last section is entitled “Hillfolk Gothic: Haints and Haint Tales” which she distinguishes from “Southern Gothic.” “Hillfolk Gothic” is a state of “delighted endarkenment,” because humans haven’t made much of an impression on these old mountains.  I particularly enjoy her use of language.

I appreciated the list of resources at the end and the list of citations, which included references to books as diverse as Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders, Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia by Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr, and Canning and Preserving with Ashley English by Ashley English.

If you are just looking for material on spells, charms, or magic, you may be disappointed but if you are interested in the history, culture, and folklore of Southern Appalachia, I think you will feel well rewarded.

New in August!

 

Andrews, Donna  Probable Caws (Meg Langslow)

Barclay, Linwood Not a Word

Blake, Olivie Dreamland

Bohjalian, Chris The Amateur

Bowen, Rhys The Castle in the Glen

Brooks, Terry  Brona: The First Druids of Shannara

Constantine, Liv Promise Me Never

Ellison, J.T.  You Know Why

Gardner, Lisa You’ll Be Sorry

Gerritsen, Tess The Shadow Friends (Martini Club)

Gilbert, Victoria Death on the Books (Blue Ridge Library)

Gilmore, Lucy A Thousand Little Goodbyes

Graham, Heather These Ancient Bones

Hannah, Sophie The Opposite of Murder

Hillier, Jennifer Heart of Glass

Johnston, Anna  When Lemons Give You Life

Krueger, William Kent God’s Country (Cork O’Connor)

Lagercrantz, David  Post Mortem

Maehrer, Hannah Nicole  Adversary to the Villain

McFadden, Freida  Brain Damage

Michaels, Fern The Boat House

Moriarty, Laura Sunlight Finds You

Moriarty, Liane   Big Little Truths

Patterson, James Delusional (Michael Bennett)

Pekkanen, Sarah The Women in White

Pinborough, Sarah  They Say a Girl Died Here

Rose, Karen  The One Who Walked Away

Russo, Richard Under the Falls

Sager, Riley  The Unknown

Simon, Nina  My Sister is Going to Kill Me

Slaughter, Karin The Secrets We Hide (North Falls)

Steel, Danielle  The True Meaning of Love

Sullivan, Archer Brimstone Hollow (Annie Gore)

Urquhart, Alaina  The Butcher Legacy

Nonfiction

Hamdani, Sasha Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply

Lepore, Jill The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State

McBride, Lucy  Beyond the Prescription: A Doctor’s Guide to Taking Charge of Your Health

McTier, Moiya Mothers of Invention: A History of Creativity from the Greek Muses

Perlmutter, David Brain Defenders: Harness the Power of Your Immune Cells to Protect Your Brain for Life

Roberts, Sam  Are They Dead Yet? The Art of the Obit

Summers, Julia  The Everest Mystery: Sandy Irvine, George Mallory, and the Truth Still Buried on Everest

Swift, Earl  Up on Cove Mountain: Adventure, Tragedy, and a Quest for Meaning on the Appalachian Trail

Nevermore: Sooley, An Event in Autumn, In Her Defense

 

Nevermore 6-23-26

Repoerted by Rita

 

Sooley by John Grisham

After seventeen-year-old Samuel "Sooley" Sooleymon receives a college scholarship to play basketball for North Carolina Central, he moves to Durham from his native, war-torn South Sudan, enrolls in classes, joins the team, and prepares to sit out his freshman season, but Sooley has a fierce determination to succeed so he can bring his family to America, working tirelessly on his game until he dominates everyone in practice, and when Sooley is called off the bench, the legend begins.

Overall, I found it to be a good book that I genuinely enjoyed, even though the ending left me a bit disappointed.     -MS     5 stars

An Event in Autumn: A Kurt Wallander Mystery by Henning Mankell

After nearly thirty years in the same job, Inspector Kurt Wallander is tired, restless, and itching to make a change. He is taken with a certain old farmhouse, perfectly situated in a quiet countryside with a charming, overgrown garden. There he finds the skeletal hand of a corpse in a shallow grave. Wallander's investigation takes him deep into the history of the house and the land, until finally the shocking truth about a long-buried secret is brought to light. 

This was a good book. I love the Wallander series.     -DC      5 stars

 

 

In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka

The whole country has been riveted by the beloved TV star and national treasure Anna Finbow, standing in court, accusing her daughter’s therapist Jean Guest of brainwashing her daughter Mary for her own financial gain. Jean insists Mary’s traumatic memories arise from her upbringing and her time studying at a prestigious art school in Rome; wounds only Jean’s therapy can heal. But as the trial unfolds, it’s Augusta “Gus” Bird, Anna’s former employee, a seemingly insignificant bystander, a nobody, who holds the key to unraveling the tangled web of lies and deceit.

It was AWFUL. I only finished it to fill a square for Summer Book Bingo.       -LK       2 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun

How to Do Hard Things: Actual Real Life Advice on Friends, Love, Career, Wellbeing, Mindset, and More by Veronica Dearly

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison

If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss

 

New Book

Travels with Agatha Christie by David Suchet

See Also Proof: A Marjorie Trumaine Mystery by Larry D. Sweazy

Reviewed by Jeanne

Winters are always harsh in Dickinson, North Dakota, but this year of 1965 seems especially bad.  Marjorie Trumaine’s husband, Hank, succumbed to his injuries earlier in the year and now Marjorie is struggling to come to terms with her new status as a widow.  Living on a farm in a rural area where the closest neighbors are miles away adds to the difficulty, but Marjorie has her job as an indexer to help pay the bills—the many, many bills.  She’s not quite ready to deal with a lot of people yet, but agreed to have the Ladies Aid come by once a week, bringing food and checking on her. She knows they’ll disapprove of Shep the dog being inside the house but she doesn’t care.  He’s company.

This time the ladies also bring worrisome news.  A neighbor’s disabled fourteen year old daughter Tina has disappeared, and so far search parties have turned up nothing.  Marjorie is deeply troubled, knowing that the girl likely won’t survive long if she’s out in the cold. She bakes pies to take to the family, and insists on going with the sheriff to look for Tina. If there’s going to be bad news, Marjorie feels she would be the better choice to tell a grieving mother.

Instead, they find the body of a murdered man: a good man they’ve known for years.  But why was he here and who would have wanted to kill him?

Marjorie is one of my favorite characters.  I love her measured approach, careful planning, and how she conducts her life in addition to solving murders.  This one was a real stunner in several respects.  Her process as an indexer is fascinating and gives insight into her personality as well as the mystery.  (Full disclosure: when a new non- fiction book comes in, one of the first things I do is check for an index.  I am most disappointed if there isn’t one and the book drops a bit in my estimation.)

Sweazy is also adept at giving the reader a strong sense of place.  The flat fields in winter, the snow and ice, and bitter cold were well conveyed—so much so that for a moment I forgot that it’s actually summer and sweltering here in 2026.

Another very appealing aspect of the book is the era.  It brings back childhood memories, even if the geographic setting is very different.  There are rotary phones and pay phones, people smoke cigarettes, weather comes over the radio, and an animal in the house is shocking.  And there are telephone party lines, which were a great source of entertainment for my grandmother who loved to listen in on other people’s conversations. There’s not a computer or smart phone in sight, and not many television sets. There’s a sense of isolation, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

As a part of this era, Sweazy uses some terms not usually heard these days as he explains in an author’s note.  I appreciated that, as sometimes historical novels will use current language which jars me right out of the story. 

The only sad part is that there are just three entries in this series.  It’s one of the rare series I think I am going to re-read because these books are just that good.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

A number of people receive invitations to move into a new apartment building with low rent and wonderful amenities—even a doorman. There is commercial space for those who would like to open a business, and some do.  Some of the apartments have a view of the old Westing house, a largely deserted mansion where wealthy businessman Samuel Westing used to live before he moved away.

One day, some of the tenants see smoke from the chimney.

The next thing they know, sixteen of the tenants are called to a lawyer’s office for the reading of Samuel Westing’s will.  They have been named his heirs, but only one will get the bulk of the fortune—the one who solves the puzzle.  They are divided up into seemingly very mis-matched pairs and each pair gets an envelope with some words.  Each team is given $10,000.

Now it’s up to them to figure out the mystery.

The Westing Game is a children’s book written in 1978.  I’d heard good things about it for years, but had never gotten around to reading it until the Book Bingo prompt: read a book for children or young adults.  I wasn’t sure what to expect; in the very first chapters when I figured out a clue very early, I was disappointed and lowered my expectations.

I needn't have. What followed turned out to be one of the most engaging books I’d read in a while.  It brims with interesting characters, and while I’ll admit I was a little confused at times but I ended up absolutely loving this book.  Characters I didn’t think I liked at all turned out to be people I admired; some weren’t who I thought they were; and some characters who seemed to have little to offer were ones who touched me most.

I really liked the diversity of the characters; I expected children in a children’s book, but the characters were mostly adults and teens. People were also from different socio-economic statuses and backgrounds:  students, professional people, business owners, and retired people. One of the main characters is Turtle Wexler, a young girl who lives in the shadow of her beautiful older sister Angela. Turtle has a habit of kicking people in the shins when annoyed, and Turtle is annoyed a lot.  Theo, son of a coffee shop owner, is a frequent target, but track star Douglas Hoo comes in for his share. Turtle is paired with Flora, a sweet older woman who is a dressmaker. Dignified Judge J.J. Ford’s partner is the cheerful and somewhat excitable doorman, Sandy McSouthers. Social climber and aspiring interior decorator Grace, Turtle’s mother, is paired with James Shin Hoo, Douglas’ father, who is a frustrated restaurant owner and inventor.  And so on.

In between playing the game, various other mysteries arise and I fully admit I was taken by surprise.  The biggest surprise of all was how much I loved this book.