Reading Ahead: February 2017, part 3

So we've covered thrillers and suspense, but what if you're not in the mood for that? I can sympathize! I like to change it up sometimes, and a novel that's cozy, or fluffy, or just plain different from what I've been reading is exactly what the reader ordered. Feeling a bit like that? Read on...

Banana Cream Pie Murder, by Joanne Fluke. I'm still reading the early books in this series, but I have to say that there's something rather addicting about them, sort of like potato chips. Fluke's Hannah Swensen cookie shop murder mysteries are quick, easy, fun, and chock full of mouth-watering recipes. In this new outing, Hannah and husband have returned to Lake Eden after an extravagant honeymoon and are ready to settle into domestic bliss. However, when Hannah's mother neighbor is discovered murdered in the downstairs condo, it's all hands on deck for Hannah and her crew to help hunt down a killer.

My Not So Perfect Life, by Sophie Kinsella. Sometimes your dream job becomes a nightmare. This is the case for Katie Brenner, who found that no matter how hard she tried to spin it on social media, her life is not what she wants it to be. Her rental is dismal, her flatmates are...odd, her boss is a banshee and her crush is, it turns out, totally unrequited. When Katie finds herself sacked, she retreats to her family's farm, intending to help turn it into a glamping resort destination while she licks her wounds. But when both her ex boss and her ex crush turn up in short order, Katie has to take a long, hard look at what a dream job, and life, really ought to be. Kinsella has a great following for her pithy chick-lit style, and I have a feeling this one might win her even more readers.

A Piece of the World, by Christina Baker Kline. Kline's The Orphan Train (2012) has been a library and book club favorite since its publication. So I'd feel rather remiss if I neglected to share her next novel, due out at the end of February. Inspired by Andrew Wyeth's mysterious and iconic painting, Christina's World, A Piece of the World is the story of sheltered Christina Olson. Increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina was unable to leave her family's farm and while this seems like she ought to have lived a small life, instead she became both host and inspiration to painter Andrew Wyeth, as well as the model for his iconic painting. While this is a natural recommendation to fans of Kline's previous work, I'm also recommending it to fans of authors like Tracy Chevalier and Susan Vreeland.

Also available in Large Print.