Facebook Twitter Instagram

Heather Seggel

NonfictionMemoir

The best medicine

Feature by Heather Seggel

2015 BookPage Summer Reads

Laughter can tighten your abs, soothe your mind and increase your empathy. Lighten up your summer reading with two funny new books that have both heart and brains.

When Patricia Marx, a New Yorker staffer, former “SNL” writer and Harvard Lampoon alum, commits to four months of brain fitness, watch out. “I could use some buckling down,” she writes. “My mental skyscape has too many aircraft aloft.” Let’s Be Less Stupid: An Attempt to Maintain My Mental Faculties details her often hilarious forays into IQ testing, online brain games, electrical brain stimulation and mindfulness meditation to combat the regrettable effects of aging. The book is peppered with wacky diagrams drawn by Marx; most are intentionally primitive, but her Millard Fillmore, on a list of “Presidents to Forget,” is surprisingly on the money. There are also a variety of puzzles and quizzes; only some are real, but all are funny. 

Marx’s efforts don’t always go as planned—she elects to learn Cherokee for the benefits of being bilingual, but confuses it with Navajo, the language she intended to learn. She still makes impressive gains for the time invested, and offers tips for those who want to give it a try. Crossword mavens may want to pick up a sudoku, or a Cherokee phrasebook, as it’s the process of learning something new that builds brain strength.

Since one of the meditation techniques mentioned here is laughter, merely reading this book could help your hippocampus feel the burn. Start with Marx’s suggestions, then plot your personal brain boot camp since sadly, liposuction is not an option for shaping up an aging brain.

Like diners at a popular Italian restaurant chain, readers of popular suspense writer Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella enjoy the sense that “when you’re here, you’re family.” Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?, the duo’s latest collection, is true to form, featuring riffs and one-liners about relationships, fitness, work and family traditions. (Christmas ornaments that have seen better days or that memorialize beloved pets? “If you’re maimed or dead, you’re on our tree.”) 

This book—the sixth from the mother-daughter team—brings the sad news that Mary, the family matriarch who figures in many of Scottoline’s funniest true and fictional stories, has died. The loss leaves Serritella more reflective about life and love just as she re-enters the dating pool, but she recalls venting about her love life to her grandmother one day and receiving this reply, written on a dry erase board: “Motto: Who needs it?” (When Mary realized that people were taking photos of her dry-erase messages to preserve them for posterity, she began writing things like, “Eat sh*t.”) Scottoline notes that the richness of her mother’s love unexpectedly made the grieving process more bearable. 

Take this collection to the beach (Spoiler: It doesn’t make you look fat after all!) and consider it a drama-free family reunion.

 

This article was originally published in the July 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Laughter can tighten your abs, soothe your mind and increase your empathy. Lighten up your summer reading with two funny new books that have both heart and brains.

Religion & Spirituality

Many paths to God

Feature by Heather Seggel

Several new books on religion and spirituality look at faith and God with both fresh and traditional views. From irreverent humor to pure devotion, these books follow Dorothy Day’s edict to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

THE ULTIMATE BEST-SELLER
The Bible is a holy text but also a revered work of literature; as such, it is open to consideration and interpretation by all. In The Good Book: Writers Reflect on Favorite Bible Passages, editor Andrew Blauner collects musings that run the spectrum from irreverent to heartbreaking. Lois Lowry’s tale of family love and a tragic loss that has parallels to the Book of Ruth is absolutely wrenching, while Reverend Al Sharpton’s take on the Book of Psalms connects it to the lamentation over black lives lost today and ends with a bracing, “No justice. No peace.” Daniel Menaker mines the Book of Jonah for humor in a manner that must be read to be believed (a sample: “In truth I was much relieved later to learn that Jonah hath not gone, yea, all the way through the whale, if you knoweth what I mean.”). An introduction by Adam Gopnik, the inclusion of a poem by Robert Pinsky and a short story by Colm Tóibín break up the march of the essays. If one piece sings God’s praises, the next may well argue that He doesn’t exist. This is substantive reading that casts the Good Book in a new light.

OLD STORY, NEW TWIST
Another fresh vision of a central religious text comes in artist Sandow Birk’s American Qur’an. This illuminated rendering of Islam’s holy text—which took 9 years to complete—is hand-lettered in an angular style reminiscent of graffiti, with each passage superimposed over a scene painted by Birk and bordered in ornate blue, red and gold accents. It’s gorgeous, and will most likely be controversial. Some of the paintings depict people, which in Islam can be considered a form of idolatry. Yet Birk’s goal was never to rewrite the Qur’an, but to make connections between the text and the daily lives of Americans; without seeing representations of ourselves, that connection would likely remain tenuous at best. Scenes at a funeral or a beach feel inhabited and abandoned at the same time, and an aerial view of a city looks like a tweedy New Yorker cover but for the block of text in its midst. 

Religious scholar Reza Aslan writes in the introduction about how, lacking a central authority like the Vatican, Islam is not the same from one place to the next. “Religion is water and culture is the vessel; Islam takes the shape of whatever culture it encounters.” Whether this American view helps to foster understanding remains to be seen; it is, however, a stunning work of art.


Reprinted from American Qur'an, artwork by Sandow Birk. Copyright © 2016 by Sandow Birk. With permission of the publisher, Liveright Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS
This Moment Is Full of Wonders: The Zen Calligraphy of Thich Nhat Hanh captures the Buddhist author and meditation teacher’s brushwork, much of which contains simple messages that grow in meaning with consideration. “You have enough” is surrounded by a circle that’s just slightly open at the bottom, as if to allow a little more in or out as needed. A single panel with just the word “Look” on it, is followed by a panel reading, “Look deeply,” with the second word much smaller and placed below the first as an almost literal instruction. These beautiful messages, rendered with care and a spirit of play, offer a gentle path to focus and contemplation. For their sparse design and construction, they’re remarkably rich.

Two pocket-sized volumes, The Illuminated Book of Psalms and The Illuminated Life of Christ, pair Bible verses with classic paintings that were either directly inspired or strongly influenced by them. The Life of Christ follows the gospels, and the paintings are by turns lush and romantic, then suddenly stark and frightening, bringing the story home with power; a rendering of the ascension that depicts two feet disappearing up into the ceiling would almost be funny, were it not for the fear and wonder on the faces of the witnesses. The flexible cloth binding, end papers and ribbon bookmark make these beautiful keepsakes, and the juxtaposition of art and text offers material for deep reflection. 

LIFE-CHANGING LESSONS
Finally, all this talk about religion can make a person itchy. Commandment this and thou shalt not that, but how do you put all these lessons into action? Lori Deschene’s got you covered, with a little help from her friends in the Tiny Buddha community. Tiny Buddha’s 365 Tiny Love Challenges offers daily suggestions for a more friendly, loving and socially connected life. Ideas include making a small sacrifice for someone else (such as giving up your spot in a slow-moving line), people-watching with the intent to compliment everyone rather than judge them and passing along praise instead of gossip. There are questions for reflection, a cue to review at the end of the day and illustrative stories of the big results that can come from small actions.

While they’re not Buddhist per se, these practices put a practical spin on spiritual ideas, beginning with self-care and carrying it forward into the world, from friends and family to strangers. Take these challenges and help create more for yourself and those around you.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Several new books on religion and spirituality look at faith and God with both fresh and traditional views. From irreverent humor to pure devotion, these books follow Dorothy Day’s edict to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
NonfictionReligion & Spirituality

Directions for life’s journey

Feature by Heather Seggel

The silence after the holiday rush gives us an opportunity to reflect and review the year that was. These new books offer spiritual insight from a variety of perspectives sure to enlarge our own.

FOOTBALL AND FAITH
From a storied run in college football to difficult times in the NFL, Tim Tebow has weathered his share of setbacks, all made that much harder by being in the public eye. In Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms, Tebow shares stories from his life, then offers parallel tales of friends who have overcome adversity and lessons from Scripture that point toward a relationship with God as the bedrock of true character. He’s a very affable guy, and the book, co-written with A.J. Gregory, is both personal and uplifting. Shaken is a perfect read for someone in need of a latte-sized shot of courage.

COMPANIONS IN JOY
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu have had a long and deep friendship, though health issues and political interference have intervened to keep them apart over the years. The two were able to meet for a week with writer Douglas Abrams, and they spent the time discussing the sources of and obstacles to joy. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World is the result of those talks. Combining Tibetan Buddhist thought, Christian wisdom and science that shows the benefits of faith and meditation, there’s much to consider here; the truest moments, though, are scenes of the two men together, holding hands or touching one another’s cheeks in deep affection, and constantly joking, teasing and laughing. The analysis easily takes a backseat to their demonstration of joy in action.

BECOMING WHOLE
Ann Voskamp’s The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life opens with a scene of such arresting violence it’s impossible to turn away. The bestselling author makes a proposal many will find uncomfortable: Maybe the only way to find union with God is to become fully broken. That doesn’t mean self-harm, but looking at the ways life is already breaking us daily and instead of resisting or turning away, moving into the brokenness. Her vivid descriptions of farm life portray God as manifest in open spaces, but the smallest human interactions ripple outward among others as well; as a result, Voskamp reads like a heady cocktail of Cheryl Strayed and Strong’s Concordance. We can’t have communion without threshing grain and crushing grapes; a hard truth, but through it, so much is possible.

RETHINKING THE TRINITY
Many churches suggest a hands-off approach to the Holy Trinity on the basis that it’s an unknowable mystery. Richard Rohr is having none of that, thank you. The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation, co-written with Mike Morrell, posits a Trinity that has more to do with science, the natural world and our increasing need for human connection than the two guys and a dove (or wind or tongue of flame) many of us know. Rohr’s insistence on God’s total inclusion of all beings would be radical enough, but he goes so far as to bend the three faces of God from a triangle into a spiral, a regenerating force. He writes, “In the eternal scheme of things, we discover that all God wants from you is you.” And you are, in fact, the fourth chair in this bridge game; Christian or not, faithful or not, like it or not, that force is a part of us, just as we are of it. Read The Divine Dance, and be prepared to lose a little sleep; it’s that exhilarating.

THE WISDOM OF THE STOICS
If the word “stoic” conjures up images of living on crackers and water, think again. The Stoics were philosophers dedicated to the study of self-mastery, not self-abnegation. Take a little time to familiarize yourself with the tenets of Stoicism, and you’ll find advice that’s shockingly contemporary. Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman’s The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living is a daily reader; each page offers a quote from Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius or a second string of their predecessors, followed by tools for reflection and action. Perception, Action and Will are the three disciplines the Stoics focused on, and they are the focus here as well. Many successful people have cited the wisdom of the Stoics, with its intensity of focus and discarding of the unnecessary, as key to success in life and business. Mastering one’s emotions is hard enough without trying to do it on an empty stomach; put down the Saltines, have a decent meal and see where this ancient yet still relevant philosophy leads you.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The silence after the holiday rush gives us an opportunity to reflect and review the year that was. These new books offer spiritual insight from a variety of perspectives sure to enlarge our own.
YA NonfictionYA FictionYA

Gifts they’ll actually like

Feature by Heather Seggel

From fairy-tale archetypes turned into art to the mysteries of the universe and our own emotional landscapes, these books are full of thought-provoking entertainment for teen readers.

Charlie McDonnell’s Fun Science: A Guide to Life, the Universe and Why Science Is So Awesome uses accessible, illustrated examples and plenty of humor to explore why science is the best tool we have for understanding the world around us. The 26-year-old English YouTube sensation starts way out in the cosmos and explains his way down to a single cell, with stops along the way to look at evolution, the atmosphere and the human body. Did I mention how funny it is? From cartoonish illustrations to “editor’s note” blurbs talking back to McDonnell, it’s easy to be carried along by the jokes only to realize several pages in that you’re learning a ton. A science lover will like this, but a lot of readers will become science lovers after starting here.

INCREDULATION
You most likely know Eden Sher from the ABC comedy “The Middle”; the word “adorkable” may have been coined to describe her character, Sue Heck. Sher has more feelings than she can express without bursting at any given time, so she and illustrator Julia Wertz created The Emotionary: A Dictionary of Words That Don’t Exist for Feelings That Do to make sense of that overload. Words like losstracize (“to reject the support of others in times of grief”) are illustrated with short cartoons that exemplify the unique ways we manage to shoot ourselves in the feet when we’re feeling too much. Are you irredependent (irrationally independent and unable to ask for help)? That tends to end poorly; cartoon Eden won’t accept a hand with a dangerously heavy box and is ultimately squashed so completely her guts fly out like streamers. Her friend deadpans that she’s unlikely to get her deposit back when it’s time to move. It’s simultaneously sweet and laugh-out-loud (in painful recognition) funny. 

ARTFUL TALES
The Singing Bones collects photos of small sculptures by Shaun Tan and displays them next to excerpts from the Grimm’s fairy tales on which they’re based. Don’t pick it up thinking you’ll be able to put it down when the phone rings, or it’s time for bed, or the house is on fire. These pieces are simple, almost primitive, and perfectly play with the fairy-tale archetypes. “The Companionship of the Cat and Mouse” depicts a large cat with an enormous saucer for a mouth, on which the tiny mouse has been perched, unbeknownst to him, for the entire story. Neil Gaiman contributes a foreword, and there’s an essay by Jack Zipes providing some background on the Brothers Grimm, both of which are helpful. But dive into the artwork and you’ll find creepy, cool, deceptively simple works sure to fire the imagination. It’s perfect for artists, writers and dreamers.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

From fairy-tale archetypes turned into art to the mysteries of the universe and our own emotional landscapes, these books are full of thought-provoking entertainment for teen readers.
Mystery

Cozy mysteries: Parrot under oath

Feature by Heather Seggel

E.J. Copperman’s second entry in the Agent to the Paws series, Bird, Bath, and Beyond, finds animal talent agent Kay Powell on the set of a TV show with a parrot whose owner has the flu. When the show’s (human) star turns up dead, the parrot is surprisingly talkative, and since he’s Kay’s client, she’s drawn into the search for a killer. The well-populated story zips along—Kay’s parents visit, the show’s cast and crew are all suspects, and the human-animal banter is snappy. Glimpses of show business at its best and worst (the hard work, the giant egos) and the ways animals are used on film give this clever tale a realistic feel. So far, Kay is two for two when it comes to adopting her animal clients. As the series evolves, what kind of zoo will she end up with? For cozy fans, it will be fun to find out.

TILL DEATH DO US PART
The town of Tinker’s Cove, Maine, is in an introspective mood at the start of Silver Anniversary Murder. A quarrelsome couple is renewing their vows, and everyone’s invited. Lucy Stone reaches out to her best friend, Beth, to reminisce about her own wedding day, only to learn that Beth has died. But was it suicide, or did one of Beth’s four ex-husbands help her off that balcony? To find out, Lucy goes back to New York City and reflects on her own past while searching for clues. This is bestselling author Leslie Meier’s 25th Lucy Stone mystery, but the small-town hospitality of Tinker’s Cove welcomes all readers, new and old alike. Lucy is observant by nature, and her reporter’s instincts are both an asset and a liability; anyone with something to hide had better do it well, or else keep Lucy out of the way. The resolution to this mystery takes a few unexpectedly dark turns, but Lucy lands on her feet. After all, it’s hardly her first time to be embroiled in matters of life and death.

TOP PICK IN COZIES
In the 1950s, Brighton, England, was bucolic and lovely—if you disregard the hooligans, Teddy Boys and other criminal mischief-makers lurking about. In A Shot in the Dark, author Lynne Truss of Eats, Shoots and Leaves (2003) fame introduces Inspector Steine, a police captain who wants nothing more than for crime to simply relocate itself so he can enjoy his ice cream in peace. When a well-known theater critic is gunned down just before he’s supposed to share crucial evidence in an old case, earnest Constable Twitten is determined to buck departmental tradition and actually solve a crime. This farcical tale is packed with interwoven plotlines, clues strewn about like confetti and a comically oblivious chief inspector. It reads like a stage comedy, and in fact Truss has written four seasons’ worth of Inspector Steine dramas for BBC Radio. There are no dark and stormy nights here, just gorgeous seaside views marred by occasional corpses. The ’60s are coming, but for now, women are still largely ignored; this turns out to be its own kind of liberation, since who would suspect them? Sharp and witty, A Shot in the Dark is a good time.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Lovers of puns (and fiendish murder) unite! It's our very first cozy mystery column.
FictionMystery

Cozies: January 2019

Feature by Heather Seggel

Jarrett Creek, Texas, exemplifies small-town living. Neighbors look out for one another, or so you’d think. When a beloved local baking wizard, Loretta Singletary, turns up missing, police Chief Samuel Craddock realizes he missed several changes in his friend’s appearance that may have been clues. A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary is an old-fashioned story with a modern problem at its center. Terry Shames’ latest book finds the town divided over church involvement in a goat rodeo when Loretta goes missing. The discovery that she was considering online matchmaking services is mildly scandalous, and Craddock must explore the world of online dating in order to begin the investigation. The tension ratchets up when a body is found and linked back to the same dating sites, and the search for Loretta intensifies. The resolution to this tale is a bit offbeat, but the setting is lush and absorbing, and the tension builds perfectly along the way. 

Bryant & May: Hall of Mirrors is Christopher Fowler’s 16th tale of the Peculiar Crimes Unit, and this time we’re off to London in the swinging ’60s. Even in their youth, detectives Bryant and May had a habit of doing things their own way, and a simple assignment—keep a man alive for a weekend and get him to court to testify on Monday morning—takes several hard left turns. There’s slapstick comedy and swift wordplay (the duo’s word games are briefly upstaged by Bryant dangling upside down from a trellis during a window escape) as well as food for thought. Standout moments include exchanges between hippies in love with the idea of freedom and the elders who fought in World War II but don’t see their own definition of “freedom” in loose morals and patchouli fumes. If this is your first outing with Bryant and May, you’ll want to read them all.

It seems that Major Sir Robert and Lady Lucy Kurland need only drop in on a new city for a death to occur. Thankfully they’ve become so adept at sleuthing they can almost schedule it alongside their travel itinerary. In Death Comes to Bath, the sixth in Catherine Lloyd’s series, Robert has had a medical setback, so the pair, along with Lucy’s sister, travels to “take the waters” in England’s famed Roman baths. After befriending an older gentleman, the pair is dismayed when he drowns, and foul play is apparent. Lloyd balances period history (Robert was injured in the Battle of Waterloo), a tense romantic subplot and some extravagant vacation shopping while respecting the grave nature of the crime. Class divisions—and the way money can help one surmount them—make for a rich suspect pool. It may be cruel to hope Robert and Lucy keep visiting new cities, given what tends to happen, but watching this duo in action is a joy. 

 

This article was originally published in the January 2019 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Jarrett Creek, Texas, exemplifies small-town living. Neighbors look out for one another, or so you’d think. When a beloved local baking wizard, Loretta Singletary, turns up missing, police Chief Samuel Craddock realizes he missed several changes in his friend’s appearance that may have been clues. A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary is an old-fashioned story with a modern problem at its center.

Mystery

Three terrifying serial killers

Feature by Heather Seggel

Three new serial killer thrillers approach their murderous subjects in vastly different ways. One is a game of cat and mouse, another probes the psychological makeup of a killer, and a third is disarmingly funny.

Peter Swanson sets Before She Knew Him in a charming Massachusetts neighborhood. Two young couples live next door to one another, and at a casual dinner they hope will lead to friendship, Hen notices something in her neighbor’s studio that alarms her. It appears to be evidence in an unsolved murder. Worse yet, she can tell her neighbor, Matthew, saw her react. She fudges a reason to go back and double-check, and suddenly the item has disappeared. What now?

Hen must act with caution—she has a history of mental illness that led her to fixate on the very case she suspects Matthew of being connected to, and her husband, Lloyd, is adamant that she not pursue the matter further. But it’s not long before she’s an eyewitness to something horrible, and now both she and Lloyd are at risk.

Swanson artfully plays the tension in this story. The details of Hen’s job as an illustrator and printmaker are fascinating, and the dynamic between both couples who can’t quite get along lull the reader into forgetting that one of the four might be a murderer. There’s a neat twist at the end, but the real surprise is the way characters are allowed to grieve their losses, a luxury not always allowed in stories of this type. For a fast-paced thriller, Before She Knew Him achieves an impressive significance in its pauses.

The Devil Aspect is Scottish author Craig Russell’s American debut, and it’s a knockout. Set in Czechoslovakia in 1935, it tells parallel stories that converge in an explosive conclusion. Viktor Kosárek, a psychiatrist, has come to work at an asylum for the criminally insane that is housed in a castle and contains just six patients, the most dangerous killers in the country. In Prague, police are trailing a serial killer who seems to be imitating Jack the Ripper. And over the border in Germany, Nazism is on the rise. Welcome to the pressure cooker.

Kosárek is interviewing the asylum’s inmates to try and identify the “devil aspect” that leads them to kill, and their stories are terrifying and extravagantly gory. Prague police eventually appeal to the doctors at the asylum for help with their own case—catching the murderer they’ve nicknamed “Leather Apron.” The combination of research and investigation takes place while people gradually take sides in the new political climate, adding up to an edge-of-the-seat suspense tale and Gothic tragedy in one.

The fine details of the investigation (part of it hinges on a single glass bead), and a romance between the doctor and a Jewish hospital administrator who is thus on constant guard, are given space to breathe and described in lush detail. Even characters that appear only briefly are memorable and realistic. Russell sets up these converging stories, then adds a twist that could give a reader whiplash. It’s no wonder the film rights have already been snapped up. Read it now, though, before the spoilers get out. The Devil Aspect is the best of its kind.

A serial killer is targeting pairs of best friends in Sophie Hannah’s latest, The Next to Die. Police can’t nail him down, though they’ve helpfully given him the nickname “Billy Dead Mates.” A radical feminist columnist is using the killings to highlight misogynist violence while pointedly ignoring that one of the victims was male. And comedian Kim Tribbeck would find this all hilarious—that is her job, after all—but for the fact that she might be next on the killer’s list. The killer’s calling card is a tiny white handmade book with a bit of verse inside. Kim received one but has no best friend or desire for one. Police are left to wonder if it was a mistake, or if the killer might be moving on to solo targets.

Woven into the investigation is a subplot particular to two of the detectives on the case who are married, which Kim inadvertently gets involved in, and which adds to the story’s extended meditation on relationships, be they friendly, familial or maybe just a thing on the side.

Told in a mix of memoir excerpts, newspaper columns and narration from varied points of view, The Next to Die will keep you guessing and also, perhaps unexpectedly, laughing. Hannah lets the line slacken then pulls it back in with a jolt as needed. The shifts in narration demand close attention and add to the suspense, though the police seem to take the most roundabout path possible to finally solving the case, including a road trip to Kim’s prior performance venues to find the one where she was given the book. Playing freely with the conventions of the genre, The Next to Die is a funny, philosophical, reflective and taut whodunit.

Three new serial killer thrillers approach their murderous subjects in vastly different ways. One is a game of cat and mouse, another probes the psychological makeup of a killer, and a third is disarmingly funny.

YA FictionYA

New YA graphic novels explore queer coming-of-age tales

Feature by Heather Seggel

So much of teenage life is about looking forward—to college, first jobs or living away from home. Two new YA graphic novels with LGBTQ+ storylines artfully play with this idea. In one, looking too far forward could mean missing an amazing present, and the other shows how hard it is to move on when the past is filled with secrets and lies.

In Kevin Panetta’s Bloom, Ari is ready for his real life to begin. An apartment in the city with friends and the chance for his band to break out are all Ari can focus on, to his parents’ dismay. Their family bakery needs his help to stay afloat, but Ari is so determined to go that he posts a flyer advertising his bakery job as available. Only one applicant, Hector, has an aptitude for baking, and while Ari trains him, the two begin to grow close. Can Ari reconcile his dream for his future with his new reality?

Artist Savanna Ganucheau’s illustrations show us the charm of the seaside town Ari is so ready to bail on; you can practically hear the surf in the background and see the tourists wandering past. The fracture lines in his friendships grow as his focus on work is renewed and his feelings for Hector become more serious. Readers see Ari’s focus changing, but it stings when his friends seem to be moving on without him.

Viewed one way, Bloom tells a small story of two boys who meet and fall in love while beginning to face adulthood. But because it’s set at a time in life when being totally self-obsessed (while lacking any self-awareness) is the norm, it feels bigger than the sum of its parts. Long scenes of Ari and Hector simply baking together are deeply romantic, and they each have complex backstories (including family, exes and friends you love but sometimes want to slap silly) that make us care more about their happiness. Grab a red velvet cupcake and take a bite of this sweet story.

Kiss Number 8 is a story with a hairpin turn that readers will not see coming—and which will not be spoiled here. Rather than wanting to move on like Ari, Mads is in the sweet spot—happy at her Catholic school, a regular at Sunday mass and has friends who keep her grounded (Laura) and appeal to her wilder side (Cat). She’s kissed a bunch of thoroughly “meh” guys before realizing her idolization of Cat might be something more than friendship. Then things start getting complicated.

Author Colleen AF Venable’s story pivots in ways that recall the classic TV show “My So-Called Life.” Mads’ dad has a secret that drives a wedge between them, and Mads convices steadfast Laura to help her research what he’s hiding. Cat starts to enter into more adult spaces where she gets drunk, kisses more boys, and ignores her feelings about it all. If you’re concerned as to how a Catholic kid will fare in what turns out to be a very queer story, you should be; religion is the family’s safety net right up until it threatens to rip and drop them all.

Sometimes high school friendships fade, and sometimes an action that can’t be taken back blows them to smithereens. But Mads has family who are ultimately able to see what’s important and support her, even as they struggle to reconcile their feelings about the secret she uncovers. Kiss Number 8 is honest about how hard it can still be to come out, and it reflects on the grief felt by generations for whom it was never an option, but this story is ultimately hopeful.

So much of teenage life is about looking forward—to college, first jobs or living away from home. Two new YA graphic novels with LGBTQ+ storylines artfully play with this idea. In one, looking too far forward could mean missing an amazing present, and the other shows how hard it is to move on when the past is filled with secrets and lies.

Mystery

Cozies: April 2019

Feature by Heather Seggel

Top Pick
S.C. Perkins taps into the current obsession with researching one’s ancestry with her terrific series debut. Murder Once Removed finds genealogist Lucy Lancaster researching a murder that took place in the 1800s, only to have it become frighteningly relevant in the present day. The killer could be one of two men with the same initials, and when his identity becomes a point of contention in a senate race, tempers run high. Suddenly historical research is crucial to restoring the peace. Perkins blends a serious interest in history with giddy energy and a burgeoning romance between Lucy and a confounding but adorable special agent. The Austin, Texas, setting makes for a rich atmosphere and some rapturous descriptions of Tex-Mex food. There’s also a sober consideration of the value, and risk, of learning about your past. Murder Once Removed kicks off this series with a bang. Here’s to many more to come.

From knitting to baking to Sudoku, cozy mysteries and niche themes are a natural pairing, but if they were all set in bookstores, would anyone complain? The Loch Ness Papers is Paige Shelton’s latest Scottish Bookshop Mystery, and this time the genial atmosphere at the Cracked Spine bookstore is shaken up by a murder with tenuous ties to Scotland’s legendary Loch Ness monster. Bookseller and American transplant Delaney Nichols is loving life in Edinburgh, juggling wedding plans and a visit from her family, when she meets an older man obsessed with Nessie. When he’s suddenly accused of murder, she’s determined to learn the truth. The warm relationships among characters—and Delaney’s gift for finding the best quote from the right author to direct her forward—make this the perfect book to curl up with on a rainy day.

A hotel ballroom plays host to murder in Mrs. Jeffries Delivers the Goods, Emily Brightwell’s latest in the Victorian Mystery series. When the lights are turned back on after a dramatic moment of silence at a party, one of the guests has a violent seizure and dies. A doctor determines that it was arsenic. The victim was a cad whom most people hated, but there’s still a dangerous killer on the loose. Inspector Witherspoon comes to the Wrexley Hotel to investigate, and without his knowing, the members of his household do their part to help. The unsanctioned detective work by housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and company provides keen observations about class divisions, which Brightwell balances with humor in a story that runs like clockwork. Watching Witherspoon’s crew collect clues and sift through the suspect list, usually at meetings featuring tea and a selection of dreamy baked goods, is pure pleasure. This is Brightwell’s 37th book in the series, but newcomers will find their footing in a jiffy.

Top Pick S.C. Perkins taps into the current obsession with researching one’s ancestry with her terrific series debut. Murder Once Removed finds genealogist Lucy Lancaster researching a murder that took place in the 1800s, only to have it become frighteningly relevant in the present day. The killer could be one of two men with the same […]
Mystery

Cozies: July 2019

Feature by Heather Seggel

Starred review
The English village of Finch has been beset by an ice storm instead of the usual picture-perfect Christmas snow, but Lori Shepherd insists on a bit of cheer by making a run to dear friend Emma’s annual party. While she’s there, a car hits the ice and lands in a ditch outside. They invite the frazzled driver, Matilda “Tilly” Trout, inside, where she is able to answer a question that has long puzzled Emma—the odd-looking room in Emma’s home is a former Roman Catholic chapel. Lori, Emma and company find a compartment inside the chapel that contains actual treasure, but how did it get there? There are no murders to solve in Aunt Dimity and the Heart of Gold, just a story in need of unraveling. Nancy Atherton’s series finds kindness and human connection in frosty times, and the good hearts of Finch will warm yours.

If practiced well, the oft-maligned art of gossip can unearth as much evidence as a CSI team. Just ask the Countess of Harleigh, back for a second turn in A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder. The American transplant has found her footing amid England’s upper crust. She’s looking forward to a quiet end to summer until a friend, Mary Archer, is found murdered and Lady Harleigh’s own cousin is questioned. A romantic subplot or two don’t slow the hunt for Mary’s killer, which may involve a blackmail scheme and thus an ever-expanding suspect pool. After all, gossip is well and good until it’s about you. Author Dianne Freeman handles class disparity with care and has created a world that readers will want to explore in more depth as the series continues. 

Anna Gerard’s Peach Clobbered introduces Nina Fleet, new to Cymbeline, Georgia, and tentatively converting her gorgeous home into a B&B. Harry Westcott claims the house as his rightful inheritance, though he may have hurt his credibility a bit by showing up to argue his case in a penguin suit, then collapsing with heatstroke. Next thing you know, half a dozen displaced nuns are living chez Nina, and someone wearing the same penguin suit has been murdered. Nina, the sisters and Harry try to solve the crime, but what happened is far from black and white. Nina is a spirited lead, and the town is full of supporting characters that add to the mosaic of Cymbeline. Peach Clobbered is a perfect armchair vacation of a book.

There are no murders to solve in Aunt Dimity and the Heart of Gold, just a story in need of unraveling. Nancy Atherton’s series finds kindness and human connection in frosty times, and the good hearts of Finch will warm yours.
Mystery

Cats on the case

Feature by Heather Seggel

It’s all fun and games until someone takes a flying cat to the head. Two new cozy mysteries feature cats who are characters in their own right (and who occasionally get airborne as the situation demands), along with the punniest of titles.

Librarian and archivist Charlie Harris is well-known around Athena, Mississippi, as the man walking a 35-pound Maine Coon cat on a leash. Even folks who don’t know Charlie recognize Diesel the cat. When Charlie decides to audit a medieval history class, the only student close to his age is a woman whom he overhears in a fight with their professor and who then comes to Charlie’s office asking if he’ll be her study buddy. Charlie says no, and just a few days later his classmate has turned up dead, kicking off the central mystery of Miranda James’s The Pawful Truth.

Not only is Charlie dealing with one—then two—murders, he’s also a doting grandfather who also has a new kitten that needs training. He has boarders and a housekeeper who make his house not just a home but a family, though one of them might be a suspect. His research background gives him a leg up where investigation is concerned, and of course it’s easy to gain folks’ confidence if your enormous cat likes them (but if Diesel is wary, watch out). Athena is both modern and old-fashioned. Vestiges of the old South remain, and race relations can be tricky to navigate. All this makes for a rich stew featuring an independent senior leading a full, engaging life. Far from pawful, this is a treat.

Christin Brecher debuts a new series centered on a unique profession in Murder’s No Votive Confidence. Stella Wright owns a candle shop on Nantucket Island where she teaches classes to locals and makes custom candles for special occasions. She’s thrilled to have designed a two-foot unity candle for a wedding that will be all anyone talks about on Memorial Day weekend, but her excitement is quickly snuffed out when the bride-to-be’s uncle is found murdered—and the unity candle is the weapon. To save her business, Stella must solve the crime. Murder’s No Votive Confidence is a whodunit in a gorgeous setting with a burgeoning love triangle to complicate things. What’s not to love?

The victim’s cat, Tinker, has a way of turning up in Stella’s path and subtly steering the investigation, but details about the candle-making process and the struggle to keep a small business afloat make Stella’s predicament believable. Her long-standing grudge against/crush on a local cop is stirred up when a reporter starts to court her, though one of their dates ends up with the pair stuck in a tree. Yet she keeps an eye on who’s acting strangely and keeps building a theory of the case, even as it leads her into dangerous territory. Stella may burn the candle at both ends, but readers will love her for it.

It’s all fun and games until someone takes a flying cat to the head. Two new cozy mysteries feature cats who are characters in their own right (and who occasionally get airborne as the situation demands), along with the punniest of titles.

YA FictionYA

Families on the mend

Feature by Heather Seggel

These new novels can be challenging and even downright harrowing, but their authors imbue them with warmth and humor.

When Hằng arrives in Texas, she has lost everything except a filament of hope. Six years before, she helped her younger brother, Linh, get out of Vietnam as the war came to a close. But when Hằng finally follows Linh to America, she discovers that he’s grown into a young man with little to no memory of his life before. Butterfly Yellow follows their halting attempts to reconnect. 

National Book Award-winning author Thanhhà Lại (Inside Out & Back Again) spares her protagonist very little. Hằng has lost nearly all of her family, she is wracked with guilt about her brother, and her journey to the U.S. on a dangerously overcrowded boat is so traumatic that she practically folds into herself with PTSD. Her unlikely friendship with a Texas cowboy named LeeRoy allows her to find some relief. Lại writes Hằng’s dialogue phonetically, and it may take readers a while to acclimate before they can easily understand her. It’s a small choice that gives this tender story that much more of an impact.

Dove “Birdie” Randolph is beginning to yearn for some independence when Carlene, an aunt she barely remembers, shows up at her Chicago home. Birdie spends her time studying ever since her parents made her quit the soccer team, but she’s emboldened to claim a little more freedom by Booker, the guy she likes but can’t bring home yet. Meanwhile, Aunt Carlene is not only enabling but even encouraging Birdie's rebellious impulses. The Revolution of Birdie Randolph is either going to shake things up or burn it all down. 

Brandy Colbert, author of the Stonewall Book Award-winning Little & Lion, has created a world that readers will want to hang out in, from the snug apartment above the family’s beauty salon to the rooftop with its view of the city. When Birdie and her sister go to Chicago Pride, the mix of excitement and claustrophobia is palpable. There’s a big twist in the story—a bombshell of a family secret—that throws Birdie’s life into disarray, and the struggle to define herself separately from the strong women in her life has the potential to pull her apart. Thankfully, her web of friends and family form a net that won’t tear so easily.

These new novels can be challenging and even downright harrowing, but their authors imbue them with warmth and humor. When Hằng arrives in Texas, she has lost everything except a filament of hope. Six years before, she helped her younger brother, Linh, get out of Vietnam as the war came to a close. But when […]
Mystery

Cozies: October 2019

Feature by Heather Seggel

★ Word to the Wise
A mystery set in a library just feels right. Jenn McKinlay’s newest Library Lover’s Mystery, Word to the Wise, lets the comfort of a familiar location set up a truly creepy premise. Library director Lindsey Norris is busy with her job and happily planning her wedding. The attention of a patron who is new in town seems odd but innocuous, but it quickly becomes clear that Aaron Grady is a stalker. The more Lindsey learns about Aaron, the more she begins to doubt her own gut; she knows something feels wrong, but is she overreacting? When his body is found on library property, the killing appears to have been set up to incriminate Sully, Lindsey’s fiancé. To clear Sully’s name, she’ll have to dig into Aaron’s past, bringing herself into the killer’s orbit. McKinlay lets the first third of the story breathe, effectively ramping up the tension. Once Aaron is out of the picture, the pace picks up as the search for the killer intensifies, and the conclusion is a wild ride indeed.

Late Checkout
Halloween in Salem is a bit like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Chaos reigns, and the streets are a mess, but everyone has a good time. Late Checkout finds Lee Barrett losing hours at her TV news gig just as things get busy for the holiday. She volunteers at the library to pass the time and almost immediately finds a dead body in the stacks. It’s a big scoop, and with the help of her Aunt Ibby, Lee begins to research the victim. There are interesting forays into the work of running a small TV station and appearances by Lee’s charming and possibly clairvoyant cat. Author Carol J. Perry juggles these details with finesse and moves the plot toward a creepy conclusion that adds a few shivers to this cozy.

A Golden Grave
In Erin Lindsey’s A Golden Grave, Rose Gallagher should have the world on a string. She’s a Pinkerton agent working with a gorgeous partner—a far cry from her old life as a housekeeper—but that change in status has tested old friendships, and Rose still can’t pass for a society dame. A plot to assassinate New York City mayoral candidate Theodore Roosevelt keeps her hopping among ballrooms, political mixers and Nikola Tesla’s lab, where Mark Twain wisecracks while watching for the next fireball to appear. Lindsey balances history, a budding romance, a dash of paranormal activity and surprising humor. (A scene involving the as-yet-unveiled Statue of Liberty is surreal and hilarious.) In the language of its time, this is a corker. 

★ Word to the Wise A mystery set in a library just feels right. Jenn McKinlay’s newest Library Lover’s Mystery, Word to the Wise, lets the comfort of a familiar location set up a truly creepy premise. Library director Lindsey Norris is busy with her job and happily planning her wedding. The attention of a patron […]

Sign Up

Stay on top of new releases: Sign up for our newsletter to receive reading recommendations in your favorite genres.

Sign up now

Trending Features

All Features