New Fiction in May

 

May

Andrews, Alexandra  The Fine Art of Lying

Armstrong, Kelley  An Ordinary Sort of Evil (Rip Through Time)

Barnes, S.A. Death’s Daughter

Brammer, Mikki  Good Joy, Bad Joy

Butcher, Jim  Out Law (Dresden Files)

Carr, Jack  The Fourth Option

Center, Katherine The Shippers

Comey, James Red Verdict

Connelly, Michael  Ironwood (Catalina)

Dinniman, Matt A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl)

Penny, Louise & Mellissa Fung The Last Mandarin

Stuart, Douglas John of John

Dray, Stephanie  Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams

Finlay, Alex The Anniversary

Fortune, Carley  Our Perfect Storm

Frankel, Laurie  Enormous Wings

Gaylin, Alison  Robert B. Parker’s Booked (Sunny Randall)

Gilmore, Laurie The Daisy Chain Flower Shop

Haig, Matt The Midnight Train

Haines, Carolyn  Ode to the Bones

Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia  Deadly Force

Hume, Virginia Liberty Island

Jalaluddin, Uzma Moonlight Murder (Detective Aunty)

James, Eloisa The Last Lady B

Johnson, Craig  The Brothers McKay

Kawaguchi, Toshikazu Before I Knew I Loved You (Before the Coffee Gets Cold)

Kline, Christina Baker  The Foursome

Larsen, Ward Tom Clancy Rules of Engagement

Macomber, Debbie Rainy Day Meet Cute

McAllister, Gillian  Caller Unknown

McFadden, Freida  The Divorce

Parker, Sarah A. The Ballad of Falling Dragons

Patterson, James 26 Beauties (Women’s Murder Club)

Roberts, Nora Final Target

Sepetys, Ruta  A Fortune of Sand

Skeslien Charles, Janet  The Parisian Chapter

Stockett, Kathryn  The Calamity Club

Strout, Elizabeth  The Things We Never Say

Wells, Martha Platform Decay (Murderbot)

Nevermore: Shantaram, Library of Lost Dollhouses, The Women

Nevermore 10-21-25

Reported by Rita

 

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Based on his own extraordinary life, Gregory David Roberts' Shantaram is a mesmerizing novel about a man on the run who becomes entangled within the underworld of 1980s Bombay--the basis for the Apple + TV series starring Charlie Hunnam. It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured. An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear.

I really liked the first half and learned a lot. I didn't care for the second half. - MH 5 stars

 

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper

When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.

Interesting and mysterious. It's a nice escape from reality. - WJ 4 stars

 

The Women by Kristin Hannah

In 1965, nursing student Frankie McGrath joins the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam, facing life-and-death situations and deep friendships, before confronting challenges of returning to a divided America.

I liked the story. It was interesting and well researched. I thought it felt a little preachy at the end. - VC 4 stars 

 

Other Books Mentioned

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Al Capone Does My Shirts (Tales from Alcatraz, #1) by Gennifer Choldenko

The Crystal Cave (Arthurian Saga, #1) by Mary Stewart

How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye (Millennium, #5) by David Lagercrantz

The Girl Who Lived Twice (Millennium, #6) by David Lagercrantz

The White Dawn: An Eskimo Saga by James A. Houston

The Last Gentleman Adventurer: Coming of Age in the Arctic by Edward Beauclerk Maurice

The Snake Scientist by Sy Montgomery

The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk by Sy Montgomery

Inside Animal Minds: The New Science of Animal Intelligence by Virginia Morell, Mary Roach, Peter Miller

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

New Fiction in November!

 

November

Afshar, Tessa  The Royal Artisan

Andrews & Wilson Tom Clancy Executive Power (Jack Ryan)

Armstrong, Jess The Devil in Oxford (Ruby Vaughn)

Baldacci, David  Nash Falls

Baldree, Travis  Brigands & Breadknives (Legends & Lattes)

Bowen, Rhys  From Cradle to Grave (Royal Spyness)

Braithwaite, Oyinkan Cursed Daughters

Child, Lee  Exit Strategy

Coble, Colleen  Prowl

Constantine, Liv My Sister’s Daughter and Silent Echo: Two Thrillers

Elliott, Kate  The Nameless Land (Witch Roads)

Evanovich, Janet  The King’s Ransom (Recovery Agents)

Evans, Richard Paul  The Christmas Stranger

Forsyth, Frederick  Revenge of Odessa

Griffin, Laura  Innocence Road

Harrow, Alix E.  The Everlasting

Irving, John  Queen Esther

Islington, James The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy)

Karp, Marshall  NYPD Red 8: The 11:59 Bomber

Lupica, Mike Robert B Parker’s Showdown (Spenser)

Mallery, Susan  Otherwise Engaged

Maden, Mike  Clive Cussler Quantum Tempest

Margolin, Phillip  False Witness

O’Connor, Carlene  Come Through Your Door

O’Nan, Stewart  Evensong

Patterson, James  Return of the Spider (Alex Cross)

Pearson, Mary E.  The Last Wish of Bristol Keats

Reichs, Kathy Evil Bones (Temperance Brennan)

Roberts, Nora  The Seven Rings (Lost Bride Trilogy)

Rushdie, Salman The Eleventh Hour:  A Quintet of Stories

Scalzi, John  Constituent Service

Spencer-Fleming, Julia  At Midnight Comes the Cry (Clare Fergusson)

Steel, Danielle  The Color of Hope

Yagisawa, Satoshi  Days at the Torunka Café

New Books for May, 2025

 

Allende, Isabel  My Name Is Emilia del Valle

Armstrong, Kelley  Death at a Highland Wedding (Rip Through Time)

Backman, Fredrik  My Friends

Barclay, Linwood  Whistle

Bartz, Andrea  The Last Ferry Out

Byler, Linda  Tough Choices:  An Amish Romance

Connelly, Michael  Nightshade (Detective Stilwell)

Connolly, John  The Children of Eve (Charlie Parker)

Cummins, Jeanine  Speak to Me of Home

Dailey, Janet  Mistletoe and Rodeo

Deaver, Jeffery  South of Nowhere (Colter Shaw)

Doiron, Paul  Skin and Bones: And Other Mike Bowditch Short Stories

Dugoni, Robert  A Dead Draw

Feehan, Christine  Thunder Game (Ghostwalker)

Finlay, Alex  Parents Weekend

Flowers, Ashley  The Missing Half

Fortune, Carley  One Golden Summer

Fuller, Kathleen  The Marriage Pact

Gabhart, Ann H.  The Pursuit of Elena Bradford

Golden, Christopher  The Night Birds

Haines, Carolyn  Doggone Bones (Sarah Booth Delaney)

Harvey, Kristy Woodson  Beach House Rules

Hazelwood, Ali Problematic Summer Romance

Hiaasen, Carl  Fever Beach

Horowitz, Anthony  Marble Hall Murders (Susan Ryeland)

Jenner, Natalie  Austen at Sea

Jensen, Danielle L.  A Curse Carved in Bone (Unfated)

Johnson, Craig  Return to Sender (Longmire)

Kelly, Martha Hall The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club

Koontz, Dean  Going Home in the Dark

McFadden, Freida  The Tenant

Monroe, Mary Alice  Where the Rivers Merge

North, Alex  The Man Made of Smoke

Pavone, Chris  The Doorman

Peterson, Tracie  An Unexpected Grace (Jewels of Kalispell)

Pinborough, Sarah  We Live Here Now

Roberts, Nora  Hidden Nature

Sampson, Freya  The Busybody Book Club

Solomon, Rachel Lynn  What Happens in Amsterdam

Weir, Alison  The Cardinal: A Novel of Love and Power

Wilson, Kevin  Run for the Hills

Woodward, M.P.  Tom Clancy Line of Demarcation (Jack Ryan, Jr.)

 

Nonfiction

Aikman, Becky  Spitfires:  The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II

Attenborough, David  Ocean:  Earth’s Last Wilderness

Chernow, Ron  Mark Twain

Doyle, Glennon  We Can Do Hard Things:  Answers to Life’s 20 Questions

Grammer, Kelsey  Karen:  A Brother Remembers

Patterson, James  The #1 Dad Book:  Be the Best Dad You Can Be in 1 Hour

Nevermore: Lighthouse Families, The Searcher, The Physician, Atlas Obscura, The Scribe of Sienna, An Unquiet Mind

Reported by Garry

Lighthouse Families by Cheryl Roberts and Bruce Roberts was written by a husband and wife team who interviewed adults who, as children, grew up in lighthouses.  This book has recipes that the lighthouse families cooked, including divinity, clam chowder, and lobster bisque.  Despite the isolation and sometimes harsh conditions of living in a lighthouse, the grown children stated that they couldn’t imagine life any other way.  Many said that theirs was the best childhood ever, as they had a huge amount of freedom and were able to explore and experience the natural world around them at will.  While growing up in a lighthouse is a very different way of life, those that lived it highly recommend it. Our reader was particularly interested in the Fresnel lenses – huge glass lenses that amplify and focus the light from light house tower into the iconic sweeping beams that we all know.  Fresnel lenses were made in France in the 1800s and were used world-wide in lighthouses as they can amplify light better than conventional lenses at a much reduced weight of glass.  Any Fresnel lens that exists is very old, as most have been retired from service. 

The Searcher by Simon Toyne is a mystery thriller which opens with man running in desert, with a huge fire chasing him.   Our reader did not want to give too many details, as they all are clues as to what is happening, but she did reveal that there was a plane crash in the desert outside Redemption, Arizona.  The main plot revolves around finding out who the man is and why he is running.   Our reader pointed out a quote by Socrates at the beginning of the book “All I know is that I know nothing” and how central that is to the theme of this captivating mystery.

Next up was The Physician by Noah Gordon.  This historical novel is set in London in the year 1035, and follows the story of Rob Cole, an orphaned young man who decides to travel to Persia to learn medicine from Arabian doctors.  Our reader reports that this book is excellent, and the author has rightly won tons of awards for this novel, which debuted in 1986 and has been followed up with two other novels, The Shaman and Choices.  The Physician has been translated into many different languages

Our next reader loves Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer.  This encyclopedic volume of trivia and weirdness features its bite-sized chunks of combined whimsy and knowledge about places and cultures the world over.  Included in the book is an article about apartments above libraries where the children in the apartments had the run of the library after closing time.  Another entry is about a mummified man whose corpse was put on display in a local museum, only to have a visitor to the museum exclaim “This is my fiancé who went missing 42 years ago!”  There is also an entry about the Creole spice filé, which is made from the ground up leaves of the sassafras tree.

The Scribe of Siena by Melody Winawer is another historical fiction book.   This 2017 novel centers on neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato, whose brother is a researcher Italian city of Siena.  When he dies, she travels to Siena to settle his estate, and mystery and time travel ensue.  Our reader says that this book tells a lot about Italy. 

Finally, An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison is an autobiographical book about living with mental illness which caused a bit of a sensation when it was first published in 1996.  Jamison is a psychiatrist and teacher, and also suffers from Bipolar Disorder.  This memoir is a very sympathetic yet honest look at living with mental illness.   Our Nevermore member stated that this book can be very funny at times, in that it explains how seductive the manic stages are when you feel that you can do anything. It also was helpful in understanding why some patients don’t want to take their medication during the manic phase of the disease. Our reader is of the opinion that this is a great book and very well written.