February 16, 2024
New Fiction
Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander – Nine years ago, with the world’s eyes on her, Charlie Colbert fled. The press and the police called her a “witness” to the terrible events that took place at her elite graduate school. But Charlie knew there was more to her story – if only she could make sense of how it all unfolded. Now Charlie has meticulously rebuilt her life. She’s the editor in chief of a major magazine, the fiancée of the heir to a publishing dynasty, and hell-bent on never letting her guard down again. But when a film adaptation of what became known as “Scarlet Christmas” – the bloody scene that transpired on that fateful Christmas Eve – threatens to shatter Charlie’s world, her haunting memories surge back with unprecedented clarity. No truth has ever been more dangerous than the one that hides in her own mind. With everything at stake, Charlie must decide how far she will go to prevent her past from colliding with her seemingly perfect present.
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto – Vera Wong is lonely little old lady – ah, lady of a certain age – who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of oolong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen Z son is up to. Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing – a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand is a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of …swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she will do a better job than the police possibly can – nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer. What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police.
The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman – 1927. Olivia “Livy” West is a fearless young pilot with a love of adventure. She yearns to cross oceans and travel the skies. When she learns of the Dole Air Race – a high-stakes contest to be the first to make the 2,400 mile Pacific crossing from the West Coast to Hawai’i – she sets her sights on qualifying. But it soon becomes clear that only men will make the cut. In a last-ditch effort to take part, Livy manages to be picked as a navigator for one of the pilots, before setting out on a harrowing journey that some will not survive. 1987. Wren Summers is down to her last dime when she learns she has inherited a remote piece of land on the Big Island with nothing on it but a dilapidated barn and an overgrown mac nut grove. She plans on selling it and using the money to live on, but she is drawn in by the mysterious objects kept in the barn by her late great-uncle – clues to a tragic piece of aviation history lost to time. Determined to find out what really happened all those years ago, Wren enlists the help of residents at a nearby retirement home to uncover Olivia’s story piece by piece. What she discovers is more earth-shattering, and closer to home, than she could have ever imagined.
The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller – Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village where she grew up for the last twenty years. That is, until her eccentric Aunt Carole breaks the news that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya’s estranged mentor, has unexpectedly died. Then Freya receives a letter from Arthur, sent just days before his death, warning her that she is in danger. Suspecting he may have been murdered, Freya and Carole begin to investigate. When they discover Arthur’s journals and an invitation to an antiques enthusiasts’ weekend, Freya finds herself pulled back into a life she’d sworn to leave behind. Once more Freya is on the trail. Following the clues and her rusty antique-hunting instincts, she and Carole attend the retreat at an old manor where all is not as it seems. The antiques are bad reproductions, and the other guests are menacing and secretive. What was going on at this estate and how was Arthur involved? More importantly, can Freya and Carole solve the mystery before the killer strikes again?