Can't Keep it to Myself: Buried, by Ellison Cooper

One of my very favorite things, reading-wise, is hitting on a new series as it starts. Does it sort of suck waiting for a year for a new book? Absolutely. But the anticipation? The feeling of finally holding that new installment in your hands and settling in with it? Those feelings are the drug of the bibliophile.

You may remember me going on about the first novel in Ellison Cooper's series, Caged, featuring FBI Senior Special Agent Sayer Altair. In fact, I couldn't keep that one to myself, either. The sequel, Buried, picks up six months later as SSA Altair heads back into the field after riding the desk following an on-the-job injury. As fate would have it, her first day starts with a bang, taking her immediately to a mass grave deep in a national park that soon proves likely to be the dump-site of another killer. Though the remains date back over the last two decades (around the time a local teen went missing) cold cases meet active case when another body is found, this one quite recent. The ties that bind will bring Altair full circle, back to a subject she's been studying and who might just be able to help her stop the predator before he can bring down more prey.

For readers who love engrossing page-turning thrillers with plenty of plot-twists, I cannot recommend Ellison Cooper highly enough. Fans of Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Gardner, Thomas Harris and Karin Slaughter should absolutely add Cooper to their lists, ASAP.

Reading Ahead: August 2019, part 1

Various flavors of suspense are on the menu for next month. Which will be your favorite?


The Last Widow, by Karin Slaughter. Readers haven't seen GBI special agent Will Trent since 2016's The Kept Woman, but the wait is finally over. Here he and Sara Linton, GBI medical examiner and Will's fiancee, must do battle with a group of radical homegrown terrorists bent on wreaking catastrophe on the state's capitol...just for starters. Slaughter is one of my favorites--this new title cannot get here quickly enough!

Outfox, by Sandra Brown. FBI special agent Drex Easton, hero of 2018 bestseller Tailspin, returns on the trail of a serial killer who has been preying on wealthy single women for decades. The quarry is cunning, leaving no clues, just a string of missing women and emptied bank accounts. He follows a lead and goes undercover, only to find himself falling for the suspected killer's next victim. If you like your suspense with a healthy dose of heat, Brown has you covered.

A Dangerous Man, by Robert Crais. Crais's latest picks up with investigators Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, following 2017's The Wanted. Pike rescues a young bank teller from two abductors, and then things get complicated. The abductors wind up dead, the teller vanishes, and Elvis does some digging to try and find out why the woman was targeted in the first place. Then things start to get really interesting...

The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware. Ware has a beautiful touch when it comes to modern gothic, and this updated retelling of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw is the perfect combination of classic elements and modern creepiness. Rowan Caine describes, in a series of letters to a lawyer from where she sits in prison, how she took a nanny position with the Elincourts because it solved both her job and living situation woes in one easy step. But the well-behaved girls were less so once their parents left, and the house's smart control system was no longer working as intended. High on the creeping dread factor, this is guaranteed to keep you up past your bedtime.

Meg's Picks: July 2019, part 2

Summer reads come in all shapes and sizes. If your preferences run serious or suspenseful, these might just be what you were looking for!

The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead. Whitehead's 2016 novel The Underground Railroad won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction. So if we're eager to see what comes next, I think that's only natural. Here, the strand of history he's dramatized follows two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim-Crow era Florida, based on an actual reformatory which operated for 111 years. If you prefer your summer reads serious and intense, you cannot miss this.

Lock Every Door, by Riley Sager. Riley Sager is totally a staff darling here at the library. We loved his debut, Final Girls, and his sophomore novel, The Last Time I Lied. We absolutely anticipate a hat-trick with Lock Every Door, in which Jules's new job as an apartment sitter in one of New York's oldest and most glamorous buildings may just cost more than it pays...

Stone Cold Heart, by Caz Frear. Frear is another new favorite, following her stellar suspense debut last summer, Sweet Little Lies, with a second novel featuring Detective Constable Cat Kinsella. She's back at London Metropolitan Police with her wisecracking partner Parnell, both of them trying to avoid the ire of boss DI Kate Steele. It's all business when they catch a case, though, involving a young Australian woman who's turned up dead following a party thrown by her new boss. The lead suspect's alibi is his wife, and she contradicts him, but which one is lying, and why? Murder is only the beginning of the mystery here.

Someone We Know, by Shari Lapena. Following 2018's An Unwanted Guest. Someone has been sneaking into houses, and their inhabitants computers, in a quiet suburb in upstate New York. They've been learning their neighbors' secrets, and perhaps sharing them. Who is he? What might he have learned? After two anonymous letters show up, rumors circulate, suspicions grow, and then a woman is found murdered. How far will these nice, unassuming neighbors go in order to keep their secrets?

Reading Ahead: March 2019, part 2

Lots of suspense series and sequels to be had next month. Are your favorites on the list? Or will you discover a new favorite? Read on!

Black and Blue, by David Rosenfelt. This is the third entry in Rosenfelt's thriller series featuring New Jersey state police office Doug Brock, following Blackout and Fade to Black. Brock has been working hard to recover after being shot in the line of duty, but between lingering amnesia and solving two murder cases, his recovery hasn't been particularly restful. Now a new murder fits the MO of one of Brock's old, cold cases and he must retrace steps he doesn't remember taking to solve the case before the killer can strike again. Rosenfelt is steadily building on to his fan base, so if you're a thriller reader in search of a newer series to jump in on, here's your chance!

Wolf Pack, by C.J. Box. Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett returns in this nineteenth series outing. The good news is that Pickett has his job back after the adventures of The Disappeared (2018). The bad news is that he's discovered that someone is using a drone to kill wildlife, and that someone turns out to be the wealthy, mysterious man dating Joe's own daughter, Lucy. When Joe tries to get the drone's owner to abide by some rules, he's met with resistance, not just from the owner, but also from the FBI and the Department of Justice. On full alert now, Joe also has a vicious group of cartel assassins, known as the Wolf Pack, in the area who are bent on taking down Lucy's new beau, and anyone he's associated with...

The Malta Exchange, by Steve Berry. Former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone returns in Berry's latest novel, on the trail of some potentially history-shaking letters between Winston Churchill and Benito Mussolini that vanished in 1945. This leads him to the Knights of Malta, now controlled by the Secreti as the election of a new pope looms. Fans of Dan Brown, if you're not reading Steve Berry, you should be!

The Last Act, by Brad Parks. Based on the real life case of Wachovia Bank, this latest by Parks finds an out-of-work stage actor Tommy Jump about to pose as a felon to go into a low-security prison and cozy up to Mitchell Dupree, a banker arrested for laundering money for a particularly vicious Mexican cartel. This may just be the hardest role of Tommy's life, if he survives. For thriller readers who like a twisty plot and lots of surprises, this should absolutely be on your reading list this spring.

Crown Jewel, by Christopher Reich. Bestseller Reich brings readers a new new Simon Riske novel (following his debut in 2018's The Take). Here, the restorer of high-end automobiles who moonlights as a problem solver to the wealthy is working for Toby Stonewood, managing partner of the Casino de Monte-Carlo. The casino is losing millions and Toby is sure he's being cheated, but cannot figure out the culprit, turning to Simon to unravel the mystery. What follows is a 007-worthy tale of fast cars, rich women, Bosnian bad guys, and the beauty of Monaco. Perfect.

Dark Tribute, by Iris Johansen. Number 25 in Johansen's long-running Eve Duncan series. Despite a tragic childhood, violin prodigy Cara Delaney has finally found her stride in her career as a professional musician and in her relationship with her guardians, forensic sculptor Eve Duncan and ex-Navy SEAL Joe Quinn. Cara's sense of peace is upended when she's kidnapped by a man who has a score to settle with her family. With everyone she loves in immediate danger, Cara will have to use every skill she has to stay alive and protect those closest to her at all costs.

Meg's Picks: January 2019, part 2

What's on my must-read list this winter? Read on to find out!

Freefall, by Jessica Barry. In Maine, Maggie Carpenter receives news that her daughter, Allison, is presumed dead following the crash of a private plane in the Colorado Rockies, though Allison's body has not yet been recovered. The deceased pilot has been identified as Allison's fiance, a pharmaceutical company CEO. After two years estrangement from her daughter, Maggie didn't even know that Allison was engaged, and as she begins to dig into the last two years of her daughter's life, Maggie discovers that she barely knew her daughter anymore, least of all why Allison might want the authorities to believe she died in the crash...

The Dreamers, by Karen Thompson Walker. I was a huge fan of Walker's 2012 debut, The Age of Miracles, and her new novel is already creating a lot of pre-publication buzz, so this is right at the top of my January reading list. It all starts in on the campus of a small California college, where a student falls asleep and cannot be awakened. Then another, and another, the sleeping sickness (which occasionally ends in death) spreading across campus and the nearby town, which are quickly quarantined. Cue students inside the quarantine zone planning their escapes, others volunteering to care for their stricken friends as the number of infected continue to climb. Shifting seamlessly among multiple characters, Walker has written what early reviews are calling a "provocative, hypnotic" and "skillful" novel. I can't wait.

The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man, by Jonas Jonasson. In this sequel to Jonasson's best-selling The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2012), centenarian Allan Karlsson and his sidekick, petty thief Julius Jonasson, are back and as uproariously funny as ever as they fly in a hot air balloon well-stocked with champagne, only to crash land into the sea. Then they're rescued by a North Korean ship carrying contraband uranium, and things really start to get interesting!

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading! I'll be back with my 2018 wrap-up next week!

Reading Ahead: December 2018, part 1

As usual, there's not a very long list of new books due out in December (January will be a different story!), but the ones coming are big names for the most part, and ones you won't want to miss!

Of Blood and Bone, by Nora Roberts. Second in fan-favorite Roberts's new post-apocalyptic series, The Chronicles of the One, (following 2017's Year One), Of Blood and Bone begins a dozen years after the close of Year One. Fallon Swift, now thirteen, is gifted and therefore hunted. But her training under the guidance of Mallick, whose own skills have been honed over centuries, must begin. Fallon's identity, that of The One, cannot be hidden much longer, and she must be ready for the challenges ahead. Also available in Large Print. 

Verses for the Dead, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. Following City of Endless Night (2018), the New York City field office of the FBI undergoes a leadership overhaul, and one of the changes made is unthinkable: the notorious rogue agent Pendergast must work with a partner. Together with junior agent Coldmoon, Pendergast travels to Miami where a series of murders has a gruesome, puzzling M.O.: all of the victims have their hearts cut out and are left, along with notes from the killer, on gravestones of women who committed suicide. As the new duo work together, trying desperately to make a connection beyond that of the graves, they realize that this particular mystery may stretch back decades, making these new crimes almost pale by comparison. Pendergast is among my very favorite characters, and this new installment will be at the top of my reading list this winter.

Meg's Picks: November 2018, part 2

I've mentioned before, these are often my favorite posts: full of new titles that might be off the beaten track a bit but still very worthy of the spotlight. If you're tired of the same-old-same-old, here are a few to take into consideration...

Come With Me, by Helen Schulman. Schulman, author of the 2011 bestseller This Beautiful Life, returns here with a thrilling and somewhat alarming tale of the possibilities of technology. Stanford junior and tech start-up genius Donny has developed an algorithm that may allow people to access their "multiverses", the lives they might have had if life choices had been played out differently. One of his first test subjects is PR part-timer Amy Reed, whose daydreams often drift to a simpler, less encumbered life, one without her out-of-work husband and rowdy children. As the testing draws her daydreams frighteningly close to the surface, Amy and her family have to make some serious choices. Dark comedy fans should absolutely check this out.

The Shadows We Hide, by Allen Eskens. In this sequel to 2014's The Life We Bury, Joe Talbert returns to investigate the murder of the father he never knew, and to reckon with his family's past. What he discovers upon arriving in his father's small hometown is that no one has much to say about the deceased except that his death was long overdue. Upon further digging, it seems the man had been a cheat and generally nasty character. But Joe must continue to dig, both to solve the murder as well as to fill in the missing pieces of his own family history. I'm recommending this to fans of Jane Harper (The Dry, etc.).

Once A Midwife, by Patricia Harman. This new addition to Harman's popular Hope River series (The Midwife of Hope River, etc.) follows midwife Patience Hester through World War II, facing trouble when her husband Daniel refuses to fight after seeing too much bloodshed in the first world war. This earns him not only the scorn of his neighbors, but also a prison sentence, leaving Patience behind to support their family, raising their four young children in his absence. Historical fiction fans looking for a different take on WWII fiction might want to add this to their reading lists.

Reading Ahead: July 2018, part 2

Give Me Your Hand, by Megan Abbott. Abbott, an Edgar award winner and bestselling author of novels like Dare Me (2012), treats readers to a buzz-worthy thriller that may turn out to be the must-read novel of the summer. Kit Owens met brilliant and mysterious Diane Fleming in high school science class. Kit has never had a reason to work harder than is comfortable until Diane's perfectionist streak rubs off and the two strike up an unlikely friendship, pushing one another to do better. Until, that is, Diane shares a secret that destroys the friendship. Ten years later, Kit is succeeding and has her heart set on a new position, only to find that Diane is her prime competition for the job. The past comes roaring back as the two compete in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that may undo them both. If you miss this one, you may be sorry!

A Measure of Darkness, by Jonathan Kellerman & Jesse Kellerman. When a West Oakland party gets violent, Alameda County's coroner deputy Clay Edison gets a call. The bad news is that several of the guests are dead. The worse news is that one victim was strangled instead of shot, and no one can identify her. This is the sequel to the father-son writing team's first Clay Edison novel, 2017's Crime Scene.

A Noise Downstairs, by Linwood Barclay. Deeply disturbed after he surprises a murderer dumping bodies on a lonely road late at night and nearly loses his own life, college professor Paul Davis is gifted with an old-fashioned typewriter by his wife, who hopes the gift might compel him to write as a method of therapy. The typewriter itself is a problem, though, because Paul believes it's typing by itself at night, but he's the only one who hears it. At one point is a person sure they've lost their mind? Barclay is known for tightly plotted thrillers, and I expect this to be no different.

Double Blind, by Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen. A Connecticut paralegal is fatally shot and then run down in the street, and she's found clutching an envelope with Kendra Michaels's name on it. Kendra didn't know the woman, and doesn't know what interest she might have in the envelope's contents, a USB stick with a video of a wedding reception. Then the bride from the video is abducted from her suburban home, and the killer's plan slowly begins to emerge. If you're new to the series, consider starting with the first book, Close Your Eyes.

Meg's Picks: June 2018, part 1

Summer always feels like Christmas for readers, there's such an embarrassment of riches! I hope you've saved a little room on your reading list, because the party is only just beginning!

Us Against You, by Frederik Backman. From the bestselling author of reader favorites like A Man Called Ove and Beartown, this follow-up to Beartown is about hockey...and everything else. Here, the residents of Backman's secluded Swedish village resume their lives where the previous novel left off, amidst the turmoil of the news that their much beloved local hockey league is meant to be disbanded. In the ensuing season, tensions run high, both among Beartown's residents and also between Beartown and their hockey arch-rivals in the neighboring town of Hed. Backman's story-telling is magic, and Beartown peopled with characters that leap off the page. If you're looking to sink into a great story, you can't do better.

Three Days Missing, by Kimberly Belle. Belle, author of The Last Breath (2014) and The Marriage Lie (2016), grips readers with a new tale of suspense. Kat Jenkins's son Ethan is kidnapped from an overnight school trip. But it's the mayor's wife, and mother to Ethan's almost look-alike classmate Sammy, who receives a call with a ransom demand. But Sammy is safe, but does he hold clues to Ethan's whereabouts? As the search for Ethan intensifies, the two families are drawn far closer than either is comfortable with, and secrets will out, as they always do. Suspense readers, add this one to your list.

The Secrets Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar. Umrigar revisits the beloved protagonist, Bhima, from her best-selling 2007 novel The Space Between Us. Bhima has long served the upper-middle-class Dubashes, but after she speaks up about a crime committed against her own family, she is promptly fired. Soon, though, she begins selling fruits and vegetables with an older woman named Parvati, and she discovers a deep and abiding friendship with her new companion, as well as the secrets of the Mumbai slums that link them irrevocably. Fans of the first novel will not want to miss out.

Meg's Picks: February 2018, part 1

If you're looking for something riveting to read, I have a few suggestions...

The Hush, by John Hart. Hart's latest is a big deal for several reasons. First is Hart himself, the only author to have ever won consecutive Edgar Awards for Best Novel (2008 for Down River and 2010 for The Last Child). Second is that The Hush takes place in the same world Hart created in his incredibly popular The Last Child. It's been ten years since the events that changed Johnny Merrimon's life and rocked his community. While Johnny has tried to maintain his privacy, books have been written about his experiences, and after a decade, the fascination remains. His only friend is a hold-over from childhood, and they share a bond of what they experienced in their youth...and what they lost. Jack, however, is unnerved by the darkness that Johnny now calls home, and seeks to bring his old friend back. A novel of persistence, the power of friendship, the pain of the past.

White Houses, by Amy Bloom. Bloom's latest novel (following 2014's Lucky Us) is a unique historical love story, that of Eleanor Roosevelt and "first friend" Lorena Hickok. The two met in 1932 when Hickok was reporting on FDR's first presidential campaign. Told from "Hick's" point of view over the course of meeting, becoming friends, and ultimately the open secret of her presence in the White House and her job in the Roosevelt administration. A poignant tale of fascinating people in compelling times.

What I've been reading: September 2017

It's that time again! Time to wrap up what I've been reading lately!


The Shark Club, by Ann Kidd Taylor. Maeve Donnelly's life was forever changed when, at age eleven, she was kissed by her crush, and moments later, was bitten by a blacktip shark. Eighteen years later, she's enamored with sharks, swims with them, studies them. But that boy? There's unfinished business, and a lot of painful history to overcome. They're more mature now, surely after years apart they can put their shared past to rest? It's when Maeve returns home between study sojourns that her life seems to blow up all over again--her brother's debut novel turns out to be about Maeve's lovelife debacles, her old flame works at her grandmother's hotel, and Maeve is going to have to do some serious soul-searching in order to choose the right path forward. Light and easy reading, though I'll admit I found myself surprisingly moved by the ending.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames, by David Sedaris. David Sedaris is my spirit animal. There, I've said it. This is the second of his books I've read (both audiobook format, if I'm putting it all out there), and I love his style, his insight, and his humor. The audiobook version is particularly effective--some writers are excellent at reading their own writing, and Sedaris is among them. Cringe-worthy and hilarious, Sedaris's stories of his mishaps and misadventures (like sneezing a lozenge into the lap of a sleeping seatmate on a plane, or moving to Tokyo to quit smoking) make me laugh, make me think, and in many cases, make me nod along thinking, "Oh yeah, I know that feeling." Commuters, if you need an audiobook to help you pass the time in a more enjoyable way, I definitely recommend this one.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria Semple. Told through emails, letters, texts, and from multiple points of view, this novel is equal parts family drama, mystery, and laugh-out-loud funny comedy. Just before Christmas, and a long-anticipated family trip to Antarctica, Bernadette Fox goes missing. In the leadup, she has run over a fellow mom at her daughter's school, dodged people who recognize her from a past she left behind over fifteen years ago, and handled her agoraphobia by staying in the family's shambles of a home and designated everything to a virtual assistant located in India so that she doesn't have to go into Seattle, which she loathes. In the aftermath, Bernadette's fifteen-year-old daughter Bee is left to piece together what happened to her mother, following a trail of letters and emails, and drag her Microsoft guru father along for the ride. Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. Bonus info: Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, and Billy Crudup all star in the movie adaptation, which is due out next year.

Secrets in Death, by J.D. Robb. This forty-fifth (!) entry in Robb's (aka Nora Roberts) long-running near-future cop-thriller series featuring NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas brings the murder to the homicide cop. Dallas is having drinks with an associate only to have the city's top celebrity gossip hound drop dead at her very feet. Larinda Mars made herself a household name churning the rumor mill of the rich and famous, but after her death, Dallas uncovers that where Mars's real money came from was blackmailing the rich and famous to keep the worst of the worst out of the media. The suspect list gets longer all the time as Dallas reveals more and more dirt, meaning she has to tread carefully among the elite. It's when a choice bit of information brings the case close to home that Dallas finds herself in over her head. Fast and easy reading, I can't quit this series.

Breaking Silence, by Linda Castillo. Third in Castillo's bestselling Chief Kate Burkholder series finds the former-Amish police chief faced with a terrible accident on an Amish farm: a couple and an uncle are found dead in their barn, apparently from asphyxiation caused by methane gas and poor ventilation. Four children are left orphans. It soon becomes clear that foul play was involved, however, and the chief, to bring a killer to justice, must uncover who might have wanted these simple, honest, hardworking folks dead. Is it related to a shocking rash of hate-crimes against the Amish in the area? Nail-bitingly tense plotting made this a very fast read for me, I couldn't stand to put it down, I needed to know what happened.

The Magdalen Girls, by V.S. Alexander. Teagan and Nora, young women in Dublin in 1962, find themselves held as penitents at the The Sisters of Holy Redemption, working in one of the city's Magdalen Laundries. What were once havens have turned into grim workhouses. The two girls become fast friends, arriving within days of one another, neither there for more than being ordinary girls, though some inmates are fallen women or petty criminals. They find themselves stripped of their identities, including their names, as well as their dignity. The Mother Superior, Sister Anne, metes out severe punishments in the name of love, all the while hiding a secret of her own. It is when Teagan and Nora befriend the elusive Lea that they finally begin to hatch a plan to escape. What they haven't counted on is their reception in a society that has a keen eye and a hard edge where soiled reputations are concerned. Fascinating and grim at the same time.

Meg's Picks: April 2017, part 1

There's so much to choose from when it comes to extra-special titles I want to share with you every month, it's hard to narrow it down. But today and Thursday this week, I'm sharing the best of the best (in my humble opinion) April titles.

Waking Gods, by Sylvain Neuvel. Sequel to Neuvel's breakout debut, Sleeping Giants (2016). As a child, Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand, buried deep within the earth. As an adult, she’s dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers—and even more perplexing questions. But the truth is closer than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force. If you haven't read the first book, I highly recommend it as some of the most imaginative fiction I've read recently. I'd particularly recommend them to fans of Andy Weir's The Martian or Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, for different reasons. This is absolutely on my to-read list for the coming months.

The Perfect Stranger, by Megan Miranda. Following Miranda's breakout hit, 2016's All the Missing Girls, the author returns with another psychological thriller meant to keep readers guessing all the way to the end. Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later. Leah teams up with a young police officer assigned to the case and together they investigate Emmy's life for clues about her disappearance, causing Leah to wonder whether she ever really knew Emmy at all. For that matter, how well does Leah know herself? For fans of Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and Paula Hawkins (The Girl on the Train), this is an absolute must.

The Shadow Land, by Elizabeth Kostova. In a new novel both vast and deep, Kostova (The Historian, 2005, etc.) spans past and present in a gorgeous but haunted country. A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi—and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes. As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by political oppression—and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger. Part mystery, part historical thriller, I'm recommending this to readers who are looking for something captivatingly different.

The Widow of Wall Street, by Randy Susan Meyers. Meyers (Accidents of Marriage, 2014, etc.) explores the seemingly blind love of a wife for her husband as he conquers Wall Street, and her extraordinary, perhaps foolish, loyalty during his precipitous fall in a tale that mirrors the story of jailed financier Bernard Madoff and his broken family. 

Phoebe recognizes fire in Jake Pierce’s belly from the moment they meet as teenagers. As he creates a financial dynasty, she trusts him without hesitation—unaware his hunger for success hides a dark talent for deception. When Phoebe learns her husband’s triumph and vast reach rests on an elaborate Ponzi scheme her world unravels. As Jake’s crime is uncovered, the world obsesses about Phoebe. Did she know her life was fabricated by fraud? Was she his accomplice? Does she stand by her man or shield her children in the aftermath? A story of survival and redefinition in the wake of personal tragedy--I have every expectation of this being popular in the months to come.