June Reading

The Last Flight by Julie Clark
If you are looking for a page-turning, rollicking, roller coaster ride of a thriller, look no further - I could not put this book down. Two women, Claire and Eva, both have secrets, both need to escape their current lives, both are desperate. So when one offers a 'switch' to the other, the plot begins to roll. This book is tensely and tautly written, flushing out some intriguing minor characters, developing some creepy bad guys, and making one care about these two women. Thrillers are often a miss for me, with implausible story lines or endings you can see coming for miles but not this one. This book is creating a ton of buzz as the 'thriller of the summer' and it is well deserved.

The Second Home by Christina Clancy

This story is about more than a vacation home on Cape Cod. On the surface, it is the story of two sisters and their adopted brother, and a special place in their history. But underneath, ah, that is where the magic happens. This book is about blended families, of words unspoken, of secrets left to fester, of momentous events that shape one's life, of greed that can warp, of freedom that sets one free, of love deep and abiding, of sisters and brothers and parents and children. I found this debut author to be a beautiful writer; she drew me in immediately with her ability to develop characters and her words set me right on the sands of South Wellfleet, or in the neighborhood of Milwaukee. An extremely compelling and powerful novel, I will be first in line for her second outing. Well done!!

All Adults Here by Emma Straub
From the beginning, we see Astrid, the central character, who witnesses a friend being hit by a bus. Needless to say, this could cause anyone to contemplate their life and the choices they made. As the shifting perspective gives us glimpses into each character's lives, we see the chaos of who they love, the push and pull of family ties, the guilt as wella s regret of parenting, the pain of isolation, the difficulty of friendship, and yes, all the many color of just plain living. Straub makes both mom and children authentically human imperfect, aggravating as hell, idiotic, and occasionally endearing. I adored this book because it is a slice of real life. It made me cheer for this family, made me want better for them, made me laugh and cringe and feel joy. She dealt with LGBTQ issues in a perfect manner, normalizing what should always be seen as normal. What a wonderful book!

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Dear lord, this book. I was shrieking with laughter during the first few pages, as we are introduced to some hilariously awful, stereotyped southern ladies who turn out to actually be pretty badass. This eclectic group of women have a lovely little book club that obsessively reads gruesome true crimes novels. Yet, once a creepy stranger moves into their neighborhood and invades their lives, children start disappearing out in the countryside and weird freaky stuff happens in their own lives (can I say RATS?! Good grief!)  I am not normally a 'horror' reader, but this book combines campy humor, southern legend, 1990's life, poor parenting choices, awful spouses, and serious blood and gore; I could not put it down. It is a unique, fascinating, creative story, and just what I needed for some sheer entertainment!

A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
After a wretchedly sad book that I could not finish, I needed a page-turning thriller to get my reading juices flowing. This accomplished it, as far as the page turning, but aargh, it left my brain in turmoil with the thinness of the plot and an ending that made me want to poke my eyes out. Ultimately, I think perhaps it was more a marketing mistake? This is the story of a swanky Brooklyn neighborhood and the moms who inhabit it, not perhaps a murder mystery; Amanda, wife of a rich entrepreneur, murder victim and child of abuse; Sarah, over involved PTA mother married to the guy who 'helps' everyone in the 'hood; Maude, wife to the hot French doctor, whose daughter has deep troubles; and Zach, the accused who reaches out to an old law school friend, Lizzie, who has some problems of her own. If you're not as picky as I am, I suspect you'll love this thriller. If, however, you like deeply constructed, hole-free plots, with some plausibility factored in, this book may leave you wanting.