Recent TBR list additions
These first five books are all added from a book list published on one of my favorite blog/podcast sites: #StrongSenseofPlace (SSOP) The list checks several of my book-loving boxes: evocative of international locales and intriguing mysteries. I'd already read several of the books from the list, but there are also some new ones that are now sitting on my TBR, waiting to move to the top of the list. If you enjoy books set in specific places around the world, visit this site - you'll thank me!
Havana Fever #3 by Leonardo Padura (translated)
Genre: Mystery
Published 2003, 285 pages
Added because: recommended on SSOP (Strong Sense of Place)
Synopsis: retired cop turned antique book dealer discovers a news clipping about a woman who disappeared years ago under suspicious circumstances and he becomes obsessed with solving the mystery
The Vacation by T.M. Logan
Genre: Mystery
Published 2019, 374 pages
Added because: recommended on SSOP
Synopsis: 4 long time girlfriends and their families vacation in the south of France but there are secrets galore and one woman has a plan to expose them
The Devotion of Suspect X #3 by Keigo Higashino (translated)
Genre: Mystery
Published 2005, 298 pages
Added because: recommended on SSOP
Synopsis: a quiet woman is threatened by her ex-husband and kills him. The quiet teacher next door helps her hide the crime and try to fool the police; twisty as detective needs genius tries to figure out genius behind the plot hiding a murder.
Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick
Genre: Mystery
Published 2019, 368 pages
Added because: recommended on SSOP
Synopsis: debut novel; set in Russia, and has good characters, drugs, brothers, prostitutes, poverty, friendship, COA, loyalty. Literary, lyrical writing.
The Black House #1 by Peter May
Genre: Mystery
Published 2011, 386pages
Added because: recommended on SSOP
Synopsis: first in a trilogy; there's a brutal killing and a detective is sent from Edinburgh to investigate in his home town; something sinister lurks in this island community; old skeletons surface and the detective becomes the hunted.
Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published 2018, 352 pages
Added because: recommended by a friend (thanks Mary)
Synopsis: 1924 South Carolina and the story of three women from different backgrounds unite to stand against town injustices, the power of family, deep secrets, and ferocious motherhood.
Tisha: the wonderful true love story of a young teacher in the Alaskan wilderness by Robert Specht
Genre: Nonfiction
Published 1976, 466 pages
Added because: found online when looking for books set in Alaska
Synopsis: a year in the life of a 19 year old woman who goes to teach in remote Alaska and faces racism and learns about/from the indigenous kids, falls in love with a Mountie.
The Coldest Winter Ever #1 by Sister Souljah
Genre: General Fiction
Published 1999, 430 pages
Added because: found on the PBS list of fave American reads
Synopsis: a first novel from this famous activist and hip-hop artist, it's set in NYC as a ghetto born woman is the daughter of a wealthy drug lord. Full of street smarts, when her world is threatened, she relies on her skills and they are put to the test.
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published Feb 2021, 408 pages
Added because: suggested by my sister and sometimes reviewer, Donna
Synopsis: two years into WWII, a BBC radio shop runs a contest to help women cook with the severe rations available. Four very different women are competing and the stakes are high. Will the competition bring the country together or fracture it even more? (It's a Buddy Read for 2021)
**ED read December 2021 - 3.5 stars
Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon
Genre: Horror
Published 1987, 956 pages
Added because: found in on the PBS list of fave American reads
Synopsis: a dystopian world remains after nuclear war and an evil roams the world in search of a little girl named Swan; an epic battle between good and evil for the soul of the world. (sounds slightly like Stephen King's epic story of good and evil, The Stand)
This is a smattering of the books I've added to my TBR the last few months. I'll start another list to share with you....this list covers a range of topics - do any appeal to you? What have you added to your list lately?
