I felt like a kid in a candy store going through the May 1, 2020 Booklist put out by the American Library Association. There were 72 pages of books with their descriptions. In Editor George Kendall’s letter, he said the May 1 issue “has, for many years, showcased mystery and crime fiction.” I wasn’t disappointed. So many books….not so little crime!
I picked out just a few that looked especially intriguing to me:
Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay
“Seven Lies is Jane’s confession of the truth - her truth. Compelling, sophisticated, chilling, it’s a seductive, hypnotic page turner about the tangled, toxic friendships between women, the dark underbelly of obsession, and what we stand to lose in the name of love.” I’m thinking obsession must always lurk in a dark underbelly but I’ll probably read this one anyway.
A Tangled Web by Leslie Rule
“…The real people behind online dating profiles are often not whom they seem, but for recently single father of two, Dave Kroupa, one woman’s misrepresentation led to years of harassment via text, email, and social media, impacting almost every aspect of his life…” The poor guy - this sounds like a nightmare!
Unspeakable Acts by Sarah Weinman
I find this one especially creepy but somehow I still got drawn in. These are all true stories about murder and deceit and obsession (oh my!) I think these types of books became fascinating to me after reading In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) when I was in high school. I’ll tell you what - I made sure our house was locked EVERY night for at least 6 months after I finished that one.
I Tried to Change So You Don’t Have To: True Life Lessons by Loni Love
After Unspeakable Acts, reading this book is a necessity! It is a “light, funny memoir about growing up in the projects of Detroit and finding success first as an engineer and later as a comic.” In one chapter the author talks about living in her car after her mother kicks her out. She gives advice based on her own experiences which inspires the reader to do better. She is a living example of what a can-do attitude will get you if you persevere.
How to Bury Your Brother by Lindsey Rogers Cook
The description of this book reminds me of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry (Fredrik Backman) where someone dies, letters are involved and those letters need to be distributed. Crank up the creep-o-meter on this one though as the protagonist (Alice) had a brother who left home, never to return. Everyone figured he was dead – there was a funeral and everything. Eventually, Alice finds a box of letters in the basement of the family home, addressed in her brother’s writing. There were other things in the box but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Alice sets off to deliver these letters and in so doing, finds out a lot about her family which leads her to question her own memories of growing up. Yeah, I know. Let sleeping letters lie, ok?!
And finally, one more light one:
Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore
This book is a parody of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare) which, of course, is already a comedy (if you can figure out what they’re saying, that is). Moore handles it nicely, throwing in his own jokes but doesn’t overwhelm the detective story afoot. If you enjoyed the character, Pocket, in Fool and Serpent of Venice, you’ll be happy to have him back in yet another sleuth tale. David Pitt summarizes it by saying it is “A welcome return of a fan-favorite character in a romp of a tale that will delight not only mystery buffs but also fantasy fanatics and, of course, Bard lovers.”
These are only a few of the many new books coming out this summer. If you have some you think are really great, we’d love to hear about them!
Now - I need to go lock my doors.