Tag:

Women

Review

The Botanist’s Assistant

by Danise Hoover

Margaret, large, 50ish, probably neurodivergent, is a remarkably good assistant in a university lab doing botanical research into possible cancer cures. The bottom drops out of her world when she discovers the body of her beloved boss, Dr. Deaver, in his office, quite dead. In true scientific fashion, she notices the small details that no one else, especially the bumbling campus police, takes account of. Her comments are quickly dismissed and she is pressed into rewriting an important grant application to credit someone who deserves no credit at all. There are deans grasping for academic glory, scientists looking to make big bucks, and only Margaret who wants to know the truth. She finds a friend in Joe, a new custodian whose personality seems out of keeping with his job. Together they work to discover what is truly going on, and not only find a murderer, but also save the cutting-edge research study. Margaret is a delight, and the situation requires her to open herself to friends and new possibilities. The ending leaves the possibility for more from Margaret and Joe, which would be a fine addition to the genre.

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Review

Best Offer Wins

by Henrietta Thornton

Brace yourself: this tale of obsession is WILD. Our DC public relations protagonist, Margo, is worried her life isn’t going as planned, with the central problem being her lack of an acceptable (read: fancy) home. Once she and her increasingly worried husband, Ian, have that, she will allow herself to get on with the rest of the plan. But as it stands, she has “No house, no baby. No house, no family. No house, no life.” She finds the perfect place but knows they will probably be outbid for it, like always. The DC property market is no joke, but neither is Margo’s determination to have that home no matter what, and her increasingly unhinged measures to be the winning bidder will keep readers gripped. If you like a main character who takes up all the space, this one’s for you, and it’s a must for book clubs as well, as Margo’s antics beg to be dissected over wine.

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Review

She Didn’t See It Coming

by Jeff Ayers

Bryden seems to have the perfect family. She has a loving husband, Sam, and an adorable three-year-old daughter named Clara. One night when he’s working late, Sam gets a call from Clara’s daycare. Bryden has not picked up their daughter and is not answering her phone or responding to texts. Sam picks Clara up and arrives home to find Bryden’s cell phone and purse in the apartment and her car parked in the garage. Where did she go, and what happened to her? Detective Jayne Salter of the Albany Police Department gets the case. From the moment she starts investigating, she finds Bryden’s family, friends, and neighbors all seem to be hiding something. But does that make one of them guilty? Lapena keeps the suspense and mystery going to the final page. Readers, at one point, will think everyone is responsible for Bryden’s disappearance, but the truth is shocking and surprising. Jayne will uncover more murder and chaos than she’s bargaining for, and Lapena could have a series character on her hands with this charismatic detective.

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Review

It Should Have Been You

by Brian Kenney

Hang on to your hat! This latest from Andrea Mara is one twisty terror ride that will have readers glued to the page. The premise starts out simple enough. Susan O’Donnell, a high-school math teacher, is a new mother, her daughter Bella having been born four months ago. Safe to say Susan is exhausted, sleep deprived, and anxious. So when she reads a snide WhatsApp message from the local neighborhood queen, clearly directed at Susan, she sends it on to her two sisters with her own remarks: “omg she’s such a smug wagon. I’d love to send her the pics of her husband wrapped around the PR girl at the opening party for Bar Four…” Bitchy? Totally. Funny? Yes, indeed. Except that Susan makes a dreadful mistake: she sends her post to not just her sisters, but to the 300 residents of her housing estate. Time to grovel and beg for forgiveness. Except things don’t work out quite that way. Instead, this one incident sets in motion a series of lies, violence, and murder that no one can stop. A knock-out.

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Review

Love You to Death

by Brian Kenney

Zorie and Kayla, best friends since third grade, work as house cleaners in a so-so hotel, a position that allows them to engage in a bit of light stealing but not enough to keep them afloat. Which is how the two get involved in crashing weddings where they can pick up some major hauls (steal the money and pawn the goods) while not knowing a soul. Until one weekend they head off to work a rural wedding that they promise each other will be their last gig (“best friend’s honor” is their motto), only to discover that they are the only two Black women at an antebellum-themed wedding. Heading out of town as fast as they can, they are involved in an accident that sends them into temporary hiding as the news blares forth the story of the “Wedding Crash Killers.” Without any support from family, and no friends that can help, things start to escalate and the two head to New Orleans, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in their wake. Zorie and Kayla are forced to make tough decisions about their future and their friendship in this brilliant depiction of two young women who can barely keep alive financially. Completely compelling, full of dark humor, and providing a deep investigation into the nature of friendship, this book is high on my list for book discussions.

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Review

The Understudy

by Willy Williams

It’s loathing at first sight when trained opera singer Kit (stage name Katerina) Margolis meets her understudy, the sexually alluring Yolanda Archambeau, on the first day of rehearsals for Barbarella, a new opera based on the 1968 film. Kit, struggling to prove she is right for the titular role, her first leading part, is taken aback when her director introduces Yolanda to the cast, something not done until later in the rehearsal process. “I felt a flash of irritation, uncharitable yet valid. She didn’t need to be there. She shouldn’t be there.” Kit’s unease rises when Yolanda yawns during Kit’s big aria and later confesses her operatic ambitions, despite her lack of training. Regarding underhanded scheming, Eve Harrington (of the film All About Eve) has nothing on the ruthless Yolanda, whose weapons against Kit include poisoned tea and dead rats. But before her plotting can escalate to a deadlier level, Yolanda is fatally stabbed in her apartment. Kit, who briefly falls under suspicion because of a violent incident in her past, turns sleuth to uncover her late rival’s dark secrets and identify her killer. Offering an entertaining look at the backstage world of New York City opera, Richter’s second novel (after The Divide) skillfully mixes the tropes of a psychological thriller with the conventions of an amateur sleuth mystery. Especially compelling is Kit’s growing self-confidence as a singer and a woman as she pursues the truth.

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Review

Ruth Run

by Jeff Ayers

Ruth has an unconventional way of making money, and her method of robbing banks through a code in a hacked chip has finally caught up with her in Kaufman’s debut thriller. Taking cash in small amounts from transactions has made her a very rich cybercriminal. When alarms signal she’s been discovered, she grabs her accomplice, and they take off. A government agent named Mike has been watching her for some time and knows everything about Ruth since he feels he launched her career. Mike has planted tracking devices in her home, car, and a bag that never leaves her side, so he knows her every move. When his superiors want her eliminated since her bug is inside the government’s network, Mike agrees to help. However, he seems to have feelings for the woman he considers his protégé, so what is his objective? When Ruth realizes that the authorities are close and her usual tricks won’t be enough, she must improvise. But even though she is elusive and clever, her methods might put her in even more danger than she’s in from the law. Kaufman has created a compelling and complex character in Ruth, and watching her outwit and coordinate her surroundings to stay alive while being in control will endear her to readers. The motivations behind the people after this protagonist, and her inability to trust those she enlists for help, keep the paranoia above a level ten. Hopefully this terrific debut will launch a series featuring Ruth and her adventures.

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Review

The Backwater

by Henrietta Thornton

Sabine Kelly has been on the run for years. As a teen she was accused of arson that killed nine people, including her mother and sister. The Sabine whom readers meet seems hardened by her years on the road—or rather, on the river, hiding as she does in a houseboat on the same rural Australia waterway she grew up by, with her drug-addicted mother and a sister she had to parent. But she doesn’t seem capable of the crime she’s running from. Instead, she seems scarred by it and desperate for the truth to come out, but powerless to make that happen. Enter Rachel Weidermann, a journalist who lives next to Sabine’s grandfather, a complicated character called Pop. She’s been obsessed for years with getting Sabine’s story, and when she sees the fugitive visiting Pop, she is excited to both get answers and save her fading career. Following the women, as Sabine learns to trust someone and Rachel to let things unfold imprecisely, offers both an engrossing journalism procedural tale and a look at what can happen when goodness meets desperation. Setting is as prominent as characterization and plot here, with all combining to create a memorable tale of redemption.

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Review

Kills Well with Others

by Henrietta Thornton

They’re back! The trained assassins readers first met and loved in Killers of a Certain Age (2022) are on another mission, but things are odd this time. The group of women, which resembles nothing so much as a book club that’s enjoying itself a bit too much, is summoned to a new job, but given tickets for coach airfare…decidedly not the style they’re accustomed to. The usual impeccable preparedness is lacking in other ways, too—no backup murder weapon provided? What is this?—and things go completely off the rails—pun intended, as the worldwide escapades after looted art and to flee revenge end up with the women on a lethal train journey through Montenegro. The Bond-type exploits are exciting and the art-history details absorbing, but as in the previous book, it’s the realistic friendships and love—including same-sex romance—that will keep readers wanting more from Raybourn. An invigorating read that will lift readers’ spirits.

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Review

The Lost Passenger

by Henrietta Thornton

Elinor Hayward and her rich, widowed father, a textile millionaire known as the cotton king, are surprised and thrilled to be invited to a high-society ball. Mr. Hayward is a self-made man—the horror!—instead of having been born to wealth like those who usually snub him. At the ball, shy Elinor is rescued by Frederick Coombes, AKA Lord Storton, who seems interested. As is the way in 1910 upper-class London, a formal courtship is soon followed by marriage. Elinor expects a romantic whirlwind like in the Jane Austen novels she adores, but right from the lackluster proposal, things are off, and after they marry, things only get worse. Frederick has no interest in his wife, except as a vessel for the all-important heir. When the couple and Elinor’s father finally board the Titanic along with their baby, it seems like a welcome break from the rules, but we all know what happens. The characterization here is superb. Readers will root for Elinor before she ever arrives on board and will be rapt as she’s thrown into peril while the nightmare unfolds (Quinn offers a wealth of details about the disaster and its aftermath). What follows—Elinor taking the chance to remake herself, always struggling and waiting to be discovered—is also gripping, and this is one of those books that will leave readers bereft once it’s over. A triumph, and surely a movie must be in the works.

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