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Book of the Week

Review

Johnny Careless

by Jeff Ayers

Police Chief Gerald Paul (Jeep) Mullane oversees a small town on the North Shore of Long Island after leaving the NYPD after an incident. He’s sometimes too friendly, and the bureaucracy above him would prefer him to be more ruthless. Jeep grew up surrounded by luxury in the area, but his upbringing was the opposite. His childhood friends were Johnny Chambliss, who had the nickname Johnny Careless, and Niven Croft, a woman for whom Jeep buried his feelings as he watched Johnny and Niven eventually marry. A Sunday morning call has Jeep visiting the scene of a body that washed up on the Bayville shore, and the dead man is Johnny. Jeep hadn’t seen his friend in a while, but they were still close, even after Johnny and Niven divorced. The story moves between Jeep reflecting on his past with Johnny and Niven and working with reluctant family members and higher-ups to get answers about the death, forcing Jeep to confront parts of his life he wanted to forget. Wade, screenwriter and showrunner for the soon-to-be ending CBS series Blue Bloods, understands that crime drags in the perpetrators, the victims, and the investigators and nobody comes through unscathed. He delivers a novel that oozes atmosphere while showcasing realistic characters in a gritty setting that could easily be a headline in tomorrow’s papers. Fans of the television series and those who enjoy a good crime drama will enjoy this, though remember that network television standards do not hinder this author on the page.

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Review

One Death at a Time

by Brian Kenney

This is one glorious, sprawling, comic work of crime fiction, full of characters you are likely never to forget. Chanel-clad, 60-plus Julia Mann—former actress, current lawyer, and full-time curmudgeon—meets Natasha Mason, all of 20-something, at an AA meeting. Julia is obsessed with the corpse that was discovered in her pool, and can only remember snippets of how it might have gotten there. Could she have done it? Perhaps. She was so drunk last night that she remembers nearly nothing, and the cops seem to believe she’s guilty. Julia sets to worrying, since she has already been locked up for murder once in her life and has no desire to repeat the experience. Fortunately, Natasha makes the perfect companion, and despite her loathing of the film industry, Julia talks the young woman into joining her staff—yes, Julia’s that rich—to help her clear her name. Natasha agrees, if she can also help to keep Julia sober. The joy of this book is both its breadth and depth. The two women—who couldn’t be more unalike—careen about Los Angeles County seeking out the real murderer, driving from the Hollywood Hills to Palm Springs to a night of old-school burlesque all while sharing stories of their lives. It’s a marvelous portrait of 30 years in Hollywood, the conflict between the generations, and how humor can almost conquer all.

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Review

Nesting

by Henrietta Thornton

Even during her sly, vicious husband Ryan’s “good” moments, Ciara feels “part of her body (toe tips, ear lobes, the backs of her knees) is listening, tense, on high alert.” And in his bad moments, “The toppled chair. The smashed bulb. The broken handle. Her bones and blood.” She’s left before, but his rage at her absence was too dangerous to endure. But when she sees a new opportunity, she takes her two small daughters and flees. Here the reader will begin to understand the naivete of “why doesn’t she just leave?” (Why doesn’t anybody ever ask why he doesn’t “just” leave?). Dublin’s rental market is impossible, so Ciara and the children are homeless, forced to stay in a cramped hotel room provided by the city. Ciara, who is pregnant with her third child, has no job, at controlling Ryan’s insistence, of course. Her mother-in-law tells her that she’s going to hell for treating “poor Ryan-Patrick” this way. Child support is non-existent, and Ryan is determined to take full custody of the children even though he appears to hate them and has never lifted a finger to care for them. Watching Ciara claw her way out of this is a gripping view of endurance, terror, bravery and the small and large kindnesses that make her life bearable. The characters here are superbly drawn, the dialog spot on, and I can’t wait for more from this debut novelist.

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Review

Famous Last Words

by Brian Kenney

An expert novel of incredible suspense. A moving love story. And certain to be one of the best books of 2025. Camilla (Cam) wakes up early one morning only to find that her husband, Luke, has disappeared, he’s left a rather ambiguous note, and no amount of telephoning or texting is bringing him back. But enough about him. This is also Cam’s first day back from maternity leave and their nine-month-old daughter’s first day at nursery. Enough anxiety? Well, there’s more. Cam is just getting settled into her publishing job when she sees footage of a hostage situation in Central London. Then the cops arrive at her office, wanting her to identify herself. Luke’s being held hostage? Horrifying. But no, actually. He’s the hostage taker. Now don’t think I’m giving away the plot, this is just the beginning of a story that spreads out over years, confronting how you can love a spouse whom the world believes is a criminal. Who manages to disappear for years after killing two of the hostages, but never manages to contact you. A man who you think you know, but can’t help and wonder if your relationship was built entirely on lies. But hang in there. The resolution—when it does come—is as shocking as it is gratifying. By the author of the Reese’s Book Club Pick Wrong Place Wrong Time.

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Review

Serial Killer Support Group

by Brian Kenney

One of the best—and most shocking—narratives of revenge I’ve ever encountered, and one that even saves room for a bit of humor. Cyra’s younger sister Mira has been murdered, apparently by a serial killer. It’s been over a month, and Cyra has grown increasingly frustrated at the tepid response from the New York Police Department: “Let us do our jobs.” Since Mira died, nearly everything—Cyra’s job, her relationship with her ex-girlfriend, the small group of friends she and Mira share, her apartment in Queens—is rapidly unraveling. Big sister Cyra has always taken care of Mira, and if she couldn’t stop Mira from being murdered, at least she can find her murderer. With some help from a friend, Cyra learns about a self-help group for serial killers—kind of funny, kind of not—and successfully infiltrates the group, creating a persona as a murderer. She claims to work in a nursing home, preying on the elderly, and manages to convince the guys (yes, it’s an all boy’s club) to let her join their group. Her goal? To learn if any of the members murdered Mira, or at least knows who did. But creating an identity as a serial killer has its own unanticipated consequences, and the more involved Cyra becomes in the support group, the more she finds her old self slipping away. Schaefer’s story is dark and twisted, unique, and totally engrossing. Readers who enjoy this book may also appreciate Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer and Peter Swanson’s A Talent for Murder.

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Review

The Quiet Librarian

by Brian Kenney

As a single, 47-year-old librarian in Minnesota, Hana Babic leads a quiet life. Until one day when a police detective stops by the library to inform her that her best, and really only friend, Amina, has been murdered. Hana and Amina share a history that extends back to the Bosnian War, when Hana witnessed the rape and murder of her entire family by Serbian soldiers, murders Hana swore to avenge. Joining Bosnian militia fighters, Hana transformed herself into a fierce warrior who became known as the deadly Night Mora—a legend among Serbian troops. But with a price on her head, she eventually poses too much of a risk to her fellow soldiers, and is sent to the Bosnian community in St. Paul to reinvent herself. Amina’s murder decades later does more than just reawaken Hana’s horrible memories. It convinces her that she is being hunted, and to survive, she must reawaken the Night Mora, drawing Amina’s murderer into a trap. Written in chapters that alternate between Bosnia in the 1990s and present day Minnesota, the book eventually merges into one astonishingly powerful narrative that is nothing less than genius. Like Eskens brilliant The Life We Bury, this would make an excellent choice for a book discussion, especially since many participants will know nothing about the Bosnian War. Eskens includes scenes of sexual violence and other war crimes.

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Review

Princess of the Savoy

by Henrietta Thornton

For glitz, drama, and mystery, there’s no better setting than a fancy hotel, and it doesn’t come fancier than London’s Savoy. It’s the swinging ‘60s in the late Emery’s (Death at the Savoy, Scandal at the Savoy) last book, her third starring a quiet champion of the hotel’s steely reputation, press officer Priscilla Tempest. (Emery was herself a press and public relations officer at the hotel.) The young Canadian is used to the casual sexism that is women’s lot in the era, but Europe’s classism is harder for her to take, and when two dueling cousins, Italian princes, arrive as guests, her patience is sorely tested. One of the princes fears he will be the subject of a story by “that blighter Percy Hoskins at the Evening Standard,” and stopping the muckraking story at the behest of her boss leads Priscilla into the lairs of London’s underworld gangsters and some decidedly upper-class ones, with England’s very way of life on the line. A fast-moving story whose initial frothy air is a clever mask on the serious stakes soon underway. Readers will want to go back to the first two books in the series, and after that can try Nita Prose’s hotel-set Maid series.

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Review

The Oligarch’s Daughter

by Jeff Ayers

Joseph Finder combines various themes from his previous novels and creates his best book to date. Six years ago, Paul Brightman worked on Wall Street and met a Russian American woman named Tatyana, who quickly became an infatuation. After they court and fall in love, she introduces him to her father, a Russian oligarch who soon sweeps Paul into his financial world. Tatyana and Paul marry, and everything seems to be going smoothly until it all blows up. At present, Paul lives in a small town in New Hampshire under the name Grant Anderson. He spends his days working on boat repair and helping with a boat charter that takes clients fishing. One morning, as he takes the boat out with a tourist, the man turns to Grant and says, “I know who you are, Paul.” Finder perfectly blends Grant’s storyline with that of a terrified Paul trying to survive. Nothing is predictable here, and the payoff is glorious. The Oligarch’s Daughter will be remembered as a classic years from now and should be used as a textbook to teach writers how to craft a perfect thriller. Is it too early to say this is not only the best book of the year but the best book of the decade?

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Review

All the Other Mothers Hate Me

by Brian Kenney

She ain’t lying! All the moms do hate her. Because Florence Grimes is quite the unrepentant good-time girl who gets all the side-eye from the moms and smirks from the dads. She has a collection of lovers that’s like a deck of cards. Her get-ups are designed to provoke, at the very least. And her last, and only, job—years ago—was in a girl band that ended in humiliation. The one ray of light is her ten-year-old son, Dylan, who is a radical environmentalist and attends a fancy London all-boys school. But when Alfie Risby, Dylan’s bully and heir to a frozen-food empire, suddenly disappears during a class trip, and Dylan is the prime suspect, Flo starts to wake up and realizes that she is the only one that can save Dylan. Rich in satire, hugely funny, with a running wink-wink to the reader, this novel is pure comedic gold.

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Review

Whiteout

by Brian Kenney

I’ve always been a fan of ice thrillers, and Burnett’s Whiteout is perfectly terrifying in every way. When we meet Rachel, an Oxbridge scientist, she’s living alone in a tiny tent in Antarctica. She can’t reach anyone, and the only broadcast she can receive is a public service announcement from the BBC stating that there has been a nuclear attack and not to leave your home. But even if the world no longer exists, Rachel soldiers on, collecting samples every day, if only to retain a feeling of normalcy. There’s plenty Rachel doesn’t understand, but even more that the reader must struggle to put together. Add to this Rachel’s guilt-ridden memories of leaving behind her baby girl and husband and nature’s increasing violence that seems to want to destroy her, and you have a recipe for a meltdown. Burnett is a genius with pace, and the book gains speed as Rachel manages to push past one obstacle after another to the final confrontation. Pack all the down you have, you’re going to need it.

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