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Winterkill by Ragnar Jonasson

  This is the final installment of the Dark Iceland series by R. Jonasson. Once again, we find Ari Thor, inspector in the northernmost town in Iceland, embroiled in a mysterious death that just happens to overlap important personal life business. In this installment, a young woman dies from apparent suicide by throwing herself a balcony. But did she? Meanwhile, Ari Thor’s ex-girlfriend and young son are visiting from Sweden. The pressure is on for Ari Thor do his usual comprehensive work and figure out this complicated mystery and spend quality time with his son and sort his personal life. Another good story by R. Jonasson. A side note on translation. This book was translated from Icelandic to French to English. This double translation adds some more differences to the story based upon the new translator’s personal style and I found it a little smoother of a read than the other books which were translated to English directly from Icelandic by the same person. However, you can get a...
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The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

  This book was excellent. Captivating from beginning to end. This is a beautiful story about friendship and unconditional love in the setting of political turmoil in Iran during the 60’s-80’s.
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Good Morning Monster by Catherine Gildiner

  If you love books from the POV of therapists, this one is for you! Reminded me a lot of the book “You Should Talk to Someone”. The book follows the therapy journeys of five different patients. You learn of their traumatizing pasts, current struggles, and future healing. I especially found it interesting to have insight into how a therapist identifies a problem and responds to it.
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This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer

  I found the characters to be a bit narcissistic and difficult to empathize with. I thought the book focused too much time on uninteresting/cliche story lines. Meanwhile, it breezed over details and plots that I was much more curious about.
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Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

  I LOVED this book. It was both heart breaking and heart warming. The author did an excellent job of telling a captivating story while weaving in historical facts. This is a must read.
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A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci

  This book is great. Reminded me of the movie “A Time to Kill.” Good mystery with interesting characters and plots.
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The Jackal's Mistress by Christopher Bohjalian

  This is not my favorite of Christopher Bohjalian’s novels. Interesting setting and story, but a bit predictable. He normally writes a more suspenseful page turner. His other historical fiction books usually have more research and historical facts weaved in. I also found some of the characters to be under-developed.
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The Winds from Further West by Alexander McCall Smith

  This was a comforting read for me, as I especially have enjoyed this author's Isabel Dalhousie series, so this reminded me of those books. I enjoyed for the most part the philosophical tone and gentle plot. I also read and liked this book because about half of it takes place on the island of Mull which interests me. I love the idea of living in a small house on an island and that is exactly what Neil, the main character, ended up doing for a short time to rest and regroup.
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New and Selected Poems by Marie Howe

  The 2025 Pulitzer Prize winning collection of poetry features new works and featured poems from Marie Howe's previous books. These poems are filled with humanity and search for meaning in the most simple of human moments.
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The Crucible by Arthur Miller

  In Salem, Massachusetts, a group of puritans are put on trial after after a group of young girls is caught dancing in the woods.
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