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The Family Recipe, by Carolyn Huynh***** | Seattle Book Mama
“We all need to feel needed. Otherwise, what’s the point of living?” Carolyn Huynh made her authorial debut in 2022 with The Fortunes of Jaded Women. It was one of my favorite novels not only of that year, but of all the thousand-plus galleys I have read since I began reviewing. She’s back again with…
The Road to Tender Hearts, by Annie Hartnett***** | Seattle Book Mama
The Road to Tender Hearts is aptly named, possibly the most big-hearted novel of 2025. Author Annie Hartnett first came on my radar in 2022 when she published Unlikely Animals, which turned out to be one of my favorites that year. When I saw that she had a new one out, I tried to temper…
Night and Day, by John Connolly**** | Seattle Book Mama
“Surely, once a book is out in the world, and being read, the world is altered, for better or worse.” John Connolly is one of my favorite authors, and because of this, I automatically snap up any book that appears with his name on it. But this one is unlike the others I’ve read, and…
Murder in an English Garden, by Carlene O’Connor***-**** | Seattle Book Mama
Murder in an Irish Garden is the eleventh in the Irish Village mystery series by Carlene O’Connor, but I haven’t read any of the earlier books. My thanks go to Kensington Books, RB Media, and NetGalley for the review copies; this book is for sale now. I was drawn to this book because it features…
The Doorman, by Chris Pavone***** | Seattle Book Mama
“It’s up to everyone to draw a line, and hold it.” Chris Pavone writes white-knuckle thrillers, and he’s one of the best in the business. His new novel, The Doorman, is one you won’t want to miss. My thanks go to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Farrar, Strauss and Giroud for the review copies; this book…
The Rulebreaker, by Susan Page***** | Seattle Book Mama
Barbara Walters was a force to be reckoned with. She was the journalistic pioneer who singlehandedly smashed the glass ceiling that kept women from anchoring network news; over the years she would conduct television interviews with heads of state, criminals, otherwise reclusive stars, and anyone else she deemed newsworthy. She was ruthless in the pursuit…
The Second Coming, by Garth Risk Hallberg***-**** | Seattle Book Mama
Garth Risk Hallberg is the author of the epic, memorable novel City on Fire, which was among my short list of favorites the year it was published. My thanks go to NetGalley and Alfred A. Knopf for the invitation to read and review his new novel, The Second Coming. This book is for sale now.…
Book Review Hot Air, by Marcy Dermansky***** | Seattle Book Mama
4.5 stars. An impulsive choice made at the last minute, and how often do those pan out? Literary fiction, 4 stars. Joannie is an author trying to live off the increasingly scant checks garnered by her first--and last--novel. She's a single parent, and as she and the rest of the world come out of hiding…
Murder at Gull’s Nest, by Jess Kidd***** | Seattle Book Mama
Nora Breen has sprung the coop, run away from her home of the past thirty years and come to Gull’s Nest, a rooming house near the sea. “Gull’s nest is that sort of place, isn’t it? Where the dreamers and schemers wash up.” And indeed, that’s our Nora. “A washed up nun…An abandoned friend. Flotsam…
The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye**-*** | Seattle Book Mama
The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye marks Briony Cameron’s authorial debut. She is a talented wordsmith, and my thanks go to Atria Books and NetGalley for the invitation to read and review. While I enjoyed several exciting passages—I do adore a good pirate tale—in the end there were issues with credibility that got in my way.…
The Maid’s Secret, by Nita Prose****-****** | Seattle Book Mama
Molly the Maid is back for the third installment of Nita Prose’s excellent and wildly successful series. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the review copy. This book will be available to the public April 8, 2025. As in the first two books, we find Molly employed at The Regency Grand…
Only Big Bumbum Matters Tomorrow, by Damilare Kuku | Seattle Book Mama
When a novel written and set in Nigeria is so successful that it’s translated into English and sold in the U.S., you know it’s probably one hell of a good book, and Only Big Bumbum Matters Tomorrow is clear evidence that this is true. My thanks go to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the review copy;…
Hang on St. Christopher, by Adrian McKinty***** | Seattle Book Mama
Fans of Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy mystery series, celebrate! The eighth installment, Hang on St. Christopher, is out, and it’s well worth the wait. My endless thanks go to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the review copy. This book will be available to the American public tomorrow, March 4, 2025. When we rejoin Duffy, he’s…
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave***** | Seattle Book Mama
Finlay Donovan is a full time mom who finds herself short on resources after her attorney husband leaves her for someone else. In the first episode, she finds herself with a corpse that she may or may not have killed; fearing the worst, she disposes of it, and the next thing she knows, her name…
The Damages, by Shelley Costa**** | Seattle Book Mama
Shelley Costa, one of my favorite cozy mystery and humor writers, gave us No Mistaking Death, a new series introducing amateur sleuth Marian Warner in 2023. Here she is back with the second in the series, The Damages. My thanks go to the author, NetGalley, and Level Best Books for the review copies. This book…
The Answer is No, by Fredrik Backman**** | Seattle Book Mama
Who can resist a story by Fredrik Backman? His soothing tone and positive message about the nature of humanity is balm for the soul. So although I seldom read stand alone short stories, I leapt on this one right away. My thanks go to NetGalley and Amazon for the review copy. This book is for…
Shattered, by Hanif Kureishi*** | Seattle Book Mama
A while back, I read a novel by Hanif Kureishi titled The Last Word. It was not his most successful book in terms of sales, but I was gob-smacked by his cleverness, and so when I saw that he had a memoir coming out, I felt compelled to read it, even though it was likely…
Somewhere Toward Freedom, by Bennett Parten***** | Seattle Book Mama
Bennett Parten is a fine historical writer, and here he examines General William Sherman’s renowned march through Georgia during the American Civil War through the lens of the formerly enslaved people that followed him. It’s a job that needed doing, and I’m glad that Parten was the one to do it. My thanks go to…
American Spirits, by Russell Banks***** | Seattle Book Mama
American Spirits is a collection of three short stories that take place in the fictional New England town of Sam Dent. My thanks go to NetGalley and Alfred A. Knopf for the review copy. This book is for sale now. I wasn’t sure this book would be up to Banks’s usual standard, as it was…
The Great Hippopotamus Hotel, by Alexander McCall Smith***** | Seattle Book Mama
The 25th book in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series is not to be missed. My thanks go to NetGalley and Knopf/Doubleday for the review copy; this book is available to the public now. When life becomes stressful, what do you do? Some swear by yoga, herbal tea, walking or running, therapy, mindfulness, journaling, or…
Open Season, by Jonathan Kellerman*** | Seattle Book Mama
3.5 stars, rounded downward. Open Season is the fortieth (!) in the Alex Delaware series, one that I have read since the very first book. Newbies can read it as a stand alone novel, however. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for the review copy. It will be available to the public…
Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank, by Elle Cosimano**** | Seattle Book Mama
Fans of Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan series will recognize her trusty sidekick and BFF, Vero. Over the course of the series, we’ve had many hints about Vero’s past, and Finlay sometimes wonders why Vero is so tightlipped about her personal history. This short story provides curious readers with some background, as well as some of the…
You’ll Never Believe Me, by Kari Ferrell**-*** | Seattle Book Mama
My thanks go to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the invitation to read and review. This book will be available to the public January 7, 2025. The blurb for this book had me at hello. Korean baby girl adopted by Caucasian Americans, who then become Mormons; a childhood and adolescence rife with alienation, discrimination,…
The Slate, by Matthew FitzSimmons***** | Seattle Book Mama
Author Matthew FitzSimmons is a veteran novelist, but he is new to me. I picked up on the buzz generated by his most recent book, a political thriller titled The Slate. What a ride! This is a true thriller, one that gripped me at the outset and didn’t let me go till it was done…
Bedtime Stories for Privileged Children, by Daniel Foxx**** | Seattle Book Mama
3.5 stars rounded upward. My thanks go to NetGalley and Octopus Publishing for the review copy. This book is for sale now. This book came to my attention when a Goodreads friend reviewed it, and I decided on the spot that I had to read it. Author Daniel Foxx may never get his tongue out…
Carl Perkins, the King of Rockabilly, by Jeff Apter***** | Seattle Book Mama
“’I had only three childhood idols,’ John [Lennon] would tell a friend. ‘Elvis, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.’ Paul McCartney would go one step further: ‘If there were no Carl Perkins,’ he’d state, ‘there would be no Beatles.’” When I saw this book, I felt a slight buzzing at the back of my mind.…
Emperor of the Seas, by Jack Weatherford***** | Seattle Book Mama
How much do you know about the Mongol empires? If you grew up in the U.S., chances are you answered, “Absolutely nothing.” The world is a big place, and world history has never been much of a priority in American schools; we study various phases of U.S. history, state history, and in a wild flurry…
How to Summon a Fairy Godmother, by Laura J. Mayo***** | Seattle Book Mama
“She was Theodosia Balfour. Good things did not happen to her.” Theo is engaged to be married, despite her wishes; her mother has bartered her to an ancient, badly behaved duke for the prestige of his title and the money she must have to keep the family manse. Beggers can’t be choosers, amirite? Her stepsister…
Crook Manifesto, by Colson Whitehead***** | Seattle Book Mama
The Ray Carney mystery series is among the most exciting new series to emerge during the past decade, and that is hardly surprising, given that it’s written by Colson Whitehead, who has two Pulitzers and a host of other prestigious awards to his credit. The first in the series is Harlem Shuffle, which came out…
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books, by Kirsten Miller | Seattle Book Mama
Lula Dean is a deeply unhappy woman. Neglected by her children, alone and unappreciated, she strikes on a way to gain the attention she knows that she deserves. She embarks on a crusade to remove books she deems objectionable from local libraries, and she sets a sterling example for her town by erecting a little…
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern***** | Seattle Book Mama
Augusta Stern is about to turn eighty, and she’s being forced into retirement, darn it. Her beloved niece persuades her to leave New York and spend what remain of her golden years in a Florida seniors’ community. From there, a wave of surprising events unfolds, changing Augusta’s life. My thanks go to NetGalley and St.…
Identity Unknown, by Patricia Cornwell***** | Seattle Book Mama
Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta series is among my favorites. Identity Unknown, the 28th in the series, is every bit as riveting as her earlier ones, and I am thrilled to have received a review copy. My thanks go to Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley, and Hachette Audio. This book is for sale now. First, I have to…
The Message, by Ta-Nehisi Coates**** | Seattle Book Mama
Ta-Nehisi Coates is an eloquent writer, and I look forward to reading whatever he publishes. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House for the invitation to read and review. This book is for sale now. This book is brief, and it consists of four essays. The first and briefest is about returning to Howard…
My Name is Barbra, by Barbra Streisand***** | Seattle Book Mama
As I came of age in the late 1970s, Barbra Streisand was a tremendous star, and when it came to movies in which she sang, she was peerless. She still is. I was starstruck by her brilliance, her charisma, and her astounding voice, and even so, I didn’t know the half of it. She wouldn’t…
Den of Iniquity, by J.A. Jance**** | Seattle Book Mama
I began reading the J.P. Beaumont series by J.A. Jance around 1990, just a few years after her first was published. I’ve enjoyed it ever since, an entertaining series that is usually set right here in my hometown, Seattle. My thanks go to NetGalley and William Morrow for the review copy. This book, the 26th…
Phantom Orbit, by David Ignatius**** | Seattle Book Mama
“When we know a secret that could have devastating consequences, what should we do?” David Ignatius writes spy thrillers, and is one of the most reliable authors I’ve read within that genre. I can always count on an absorbing read. Phantom Orbit centers on Ivan Volkov, a young man from Russia that goes to Beijing…
Tell Me Everything, by Elizabeth Strout***** | Seattle Book Mama
“Lucy said, ‘So what is the point of this story?’ “Olive laughed. She really laughed at that. ‘Lucy Barton, the stories you told me—as far as I could tell—had very little point to them. Okay, okay, maybe they had subtle points to them. I don’t know what the point is to this story!’ “’People,’ Lucy…
Let Us Descend, by Jesmyn Ward***** | Seattle Book Mama
Reading Jesmyn Ward always hurts so good. In Let Us Descend, she conveys the heartbreak and sense of betrayal a young girl, Annis, faces when she and her mother are sold separately by their owner—who is also her father--and the ways that she copes, and also the ways she is helped by the spirits of…
That Librarian, by Amanda Jones**** | Seattle Book Mama
If ever a clarion call were needed in defense of the First Amendment in general and libraries in particular, that time would be now. Amanda Jones is an educator in a small Louisiana town, where she has lived all of her life. When a censorship battle presented itself, primarily at the behest of organized outsiders…
Margo’s Got Money Troubles, by Rufi Thorpe**** | Seattle Book Mama
Margo’s Got Money Troubles, by Rufi Thorpe, is a bold, inventive, and very funny novel about a young woman cut adrift in a difficult, expensive world. My thanks go to NetGalley and William Morrow for the invitation to read and review. This book is for sale now. Margo is the daughter of a Hooters waitress…