Close out the reading year with gripping mysteries, enthralling historical fiction, and more.
12/6: Animal Life by Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir, translated by Brian FitzGibbon
Dómhildur, a midwife in a long line of midwives, discovers decades worth of letters and manuscripts from her grandaunt, and as a storm blankets Reykjavik delves into the archive, she reflects on birth, death, and human nature. (general fiction)
12/6: Blown by the Same Wind by John Straley
1968 finds the sleepy fishing town of Cold Storage, Alaska, contending with a buzz of activity: from a spate of robberies, to the arrival of both a monk from Kentucky and an FBI agent. Can bartender Ellie figure out the common thread? (mystery)
12/6: The Circus Train by Amita Parikh
Lena, growing up on a circus train that travels Europe, is equally entranced by both magic and science. As World War II sweeps the continent, Lena finds herself separated from everything she knows and loves, and must make her own way. (historical fiction)
12/6: Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur
Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, Chung’s collection of short stories blends horror, sci-fi and fairytales in compelling and terrifying ways. (horror)
12/6: A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley
In 1850s Gold Rush California, young prostitutes and best friends Eliza and Jean take inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin and investigate a spate of girls gone missing. (historical fiction/mystery) A Peak Pick!
12/6: A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson
The kitchen heats up when Xavier Reynolds takes a job as a sous chef at Logan O’Hare’s restaurant, and both find that romance may be on the menu. (romance)
12/6: The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Wanda, born in the midst of a hurricane, grows up in a near-future Florida in which climate change has accelerated, leaving behind just a few who make a life in an area nature is reclaiming. (general fiction) A Peak Pick!
12/6: Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy
In this second book of the duology that began with The Passenger, McCarthy focuses on Alicia Western, telling her story through transcripts of psychiatric sessions in which Alicia contemplates her childhood, her brother Bobby, the nature of madness, and her hallucinated companions. (general fiction)
12/6: No One Left to Come Looking for You by Sam Lipsyte
In this love letter to the New York City of the 1990s full of young artists chasing their dreams, dive bars and back alley music venues, Jack S has his bass guitar stolen and uncovers a pattern of crimes tied to local real estate moguls. (general fiction)
12/6: Showstopper by Peter Lovesey
Detective Peter Diamond investigates a series of suspicious deaths on the set of a hit British TV show that is rumored to be cursed. (mystery)
12/13: A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino, translated by Giles Murray
Tokyo police detective Kyoichiro Kaga investigates the stabbing of a prominent businessman in central Tokyo, and discovers a web of scandals. (mystery)
12/27: The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra
A tale of love and separation that spans a century begins in 1930s Pakistan, when perfumer Samir and calligrapher Firdaus fall in love, only to be split apart by the Partition of India in 1947. (historical fiction)
12/27: The Secret of the Lost Pearls by Darcie Wilde
Gentlewoman Rosalind Thorne makes her living by discretely investigating problems for more prosperous members of the upper class. When a pearl necklace is stolen from her friend home, Rosalind moves in to find the culprit. (historical fiction/mystery)
~ posted by Andrea G.
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