Cool Machine

Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead (2026), 352 pages

Garnering praise from all reviewers, award-winning author Colson Whitehead has earned it with Cool Machine, the final installment of the Harlem Trilogy. The series started with the novel Harlem Shuffle, a story that is subdued. A lot of background — family, neighborhood, and relationships – a calm before the storm. Book two, Crook Manifesto, is a non-stop fling into the unplanned and random violence that crime generates. In Cool Machine Ray Carney, the protagonist of the three books, appears to recognize his fate and embrace the criminal he has become, a cool machine. There are no subtleties; Carney gets punched by page 15. Whitehead manages to weave the feel of 1980s New York into every page. Rare is the author that generates a page-turning crime novel and a sociological treatise in one book. Bonus — the writing is first-class.

With Love From Harlem

With Love From Harlem by ReShonda Tate, 416 pages

In the late 1940s, Hazel Scott was a jazz phenom, pulling classical themes into popular music, and beginning a career as a film star. All the while, she was using her fame to challenge social norms and fight for civil rights. So it seems inevitable that her path would cross with Harlem's newest electrifying politician, Adam Clayton Powell. They instantly form a connection (despite the fact that he's married) and embark on a long, and often tumultuous, relationship that takes them through Hollywood, political activism, and a cultural revolution.

This novel follows Hazel's life with Powell, though it also focuses on her professional highs and lows, as well as the relationships she has with other artists of the day. While some of the relationships feel genuine (the long relationship with Billie Holliday), there are times where it feels like the author is trying to drop as many names as possible (the Nina Simone bits were particularly irksome, as the author admits in the afterword that neither of these two meetings ever happened). Still, it's an interesting book, and worth a read as a jumping-off point for learning more about Hazel Scott, who certainly had a fascinating life.

Murder Mindfully

 Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse (2019), 416 pages

Life is coming in hard for Bjorn. Work is stressful, marriage is stressful, and all he wants to do is spend more quality time with his daughter. In an effort to save their marriage, Bjorn's wife sends him to a mindfulness coach. Initially Bjorn is reluctant as he has things TO DO. But even he realizes that he cannot keep going at this pace, especially as his top client's shady businesses are bringing unwanted attention. Thankfully, the mindfulness coach has given him the tools to be present in any situation (whether with his daughter, defending gang members, or committing the occasional murder). 

This was a fun read. It is light with a touch of humor and, honestly, some good advice on how to be more present in your life. I found this German series through the Netflix show, and will likely read more of them.  

The Trip

The Trip by Audrey J. Cole, 303 pages

Twenty years after a whitewater rafting trip that left a friend for dead, four women have gathered for a luxury sailing trip. Each has her own reasons for attending, and none of those reasons are to rekindle their friendship. However, nobody expects things to go sideways so quickly, with death, storms, and an almost complete lack of sailing ability aboard (though you'd think that one would've given them a clue). What becomes obvious is that someone aboard the sailboat wants revenge.

There is absolutely nobody likeable in this book, which mentions Starlink enough that I'm really hoping it was a paid advertisement. I read it a couple months ago and I honestly can't remember who the bad guy is, and really, I don't care. If you're looking for a hate read, give this one a go. Otherwise, skip it.

Such a Perfect Family

Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh, 384 pages

After a whirlwind romance, Tavish has married the woman of his dreams and moved in with her parents on the other side of the world while the newlyweds try to find a home of their own. However, it literally all goes up in flames when Tavish returns home from an errand to find the house ablaze, killing his new in-laws and putting his wife in a coma. While he tries to figure out exactly who may have set this fire, Tavish's checkered past (full of wealthy women dying and leaving him all kinds of riches) may be catching up to him, making him a prime suspect in the arson.

I read this a couple months back and I'll admit that I had to look up the summary to get that paragraph written. It was a disjointed story with unreliable and largely unlikeable characters, and other than the exotic locale (Philippines? New Zealand? Maybe both?), it's completely forgettable. Meh.

 

A Zoom with a View

A Zoom with a View by Jess Cannon, 384 pages

I already had this mystery on my TBR pile, but when I read Jan's review of it, I moved it up to the top. Leo, who has reluctantly returned to her tiny Texas hometown for job that doesn't even come close to using her doctoral degree in English; her batty hairdresser-with-a-secret-life mom Karina; Karina's best friend Kay, who manages to turn the county lockup into a kegger; police consultant (and secret girlfriend to one of the officers investigating the murder) Macy... these are just a few of the fantastic characters that make up the cast of this charming and innately readable cozy mystery. And while there are plenty of over-the-top and unbelievable elements (Chaz and Kymber saying "babe" in every sentence they say to each other, for example), there are also some very real elements to ground the story. The way Leo's best friend Emily reacts to both her mother's arrest and Leo's aloofness, Leo and Karina's difficult relationship... it's a fantastic book, and I can't wait to read the next one in this series. (And yes, the dog is fine.)

The Keeper of Lost Children

The Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson, 464 pages

Living with her husband in occupied Germany in the 1950s, Ethel Gathers is a proud wife of an American serviceman and always looking for something to do. She soon discovers a nearby orphanage filled with the abandoned children of local German women and the African American soldiers with whom they had brief affairs. While Ethel and her husband personally adopt a handful of kids, they're determined to help these children find homes back in the U.S., and Ethel begins reaching out to all of her contacts at African American newspapers, churches, and everywhere else to accomplish her mission. Ethel's tale is woven together with the stories of Sophie, a Black girl attending a prestigious private (and mostly white) school in 1965, and Ozzie, a Black serviceman in 1948 Germany who falls in love with a German woman.

Braiding these three stories together creates a captivating novel that is based on a real phenomenon of Black American families adopting mixed race children from Germany in the 1950s. All of the stories are compelling, and while the reader may expect each story to go one way, the somehow-realistic twists keep us guessing. Indeed, the least believable element of the whole book is how many kids Ethel and her husband adopt, and that part is based on an actual woman: Mabel Treadwell Grammer, who, with her husband, adopted 12 mixed-race children from German orphanages. It's a fascinating book, and I was riveted the whole time while reading it.

Lost Lake

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (2014) 296 pages

The cast of characters include Eby, an older widow who owns a lakeside resort that is in disrepair, just outside a little town in Georgia; Lisette, a mute woman whom Eby and her late husband had met in Paris and who has now been with Eby for most of her life; Kate, a young woman who has been a zombie since her husband died a year ago; Devin, Kate's eight-year-old daughter who has a most lively imagination; Cricket, Kate's mother-in-law, a controlling woman who is planning to run for a political office in Atlanta; and several others, all with engaging backstories.

Kate feels as if she has literally woken up after a year lost when her husband died. She sees her mother-in-law planning out her life, selling her house, moving her to the mother-in-law's house, and planning for her to work in her mother-in-law's office. The mother-in-law also wants to send Kate's daughter to a private school and train her to wear proper clothing, instead of letting her choose the fairy wings and cowboy boots and other garb that Devin likes so well.

 On their moving day, Kate finds Devin wearing clothing from a dress-up trunk in the attic and Devin shows her a postcard she found in the trunk from Kate's great-aunt Eby, which has a picture of Eby's resort. They make a split second decision to go to the resort to see if it still exists.

Eby has just agreed to sell the resort to a man who wants to redevelop it. The past keeps poking up its head. There just might be a ghost or two. As well as people who are looking for meaning. I liked this novel very much.

Swindle Series

Swindle series by Gordon Korman

Swindle (2008), 252 pgs.

Griffin Bing does not stand for injustice. In fact, more likely than not, you will find him outlining and executing a plan to right some wrong. Along with a group of friends, each with their own set of skills, Griffin makes a plan to get back a baseball card which he was swindled out of. These kids are constantly underestimated, but with the right plan, they can show the world that they are not to be messed with.

Zoobreak (2009), 230 pgs.
Griffin and his friends continue their mission of fighting for the little guy--this time for the little furry guys! After a field trip to a floating zoo, the classmates are horrified by the poor living conditions for the creatures in the exhibit. The animals must be freed, and this is just the team to do it. 

Framed (2010), 234 pgs.
When a Super Bowl ring belonging to the school goes missing, all signs point to The Man With a Plan. The thing is--Griffin did not take it. Given his history with heists, Griffin has trouble proving his innocence, so his friends must step up and make a plan to clear their leader's name. 

Showoff (2012), 248 pgs.
Luthor, the hulking Doberman belonging to one of the friends, is in trouble. After going berserk at a dog show and injuring the star canine, his owners are forced to give him up to the pound. Griffin cannot stand to see a member of the team behind bars--even when it may be deserved--so he picks Luthor up and comes up with a plan to tame the beast--by training Luthor to win a dog show of his own. 

Hideout (2013), 275 pgs.
The team must band together again to help Luthor after his malicious previous owner begins suing for custody. The friends decide to take the dog with them to their summer camps and hide him while they figure out what to do. 

Jackpot (2014), 200 pgs.
Someone in Cedarville has won the lottery, but they have yet to claim their prize. As time runs out for the winner, The Man With a Plan takes it upon himself to discover what happened to the winning ticket. If that weren't stressful enough, Griffin must complete this plan alone after a new student moves to town and disrupts the friend-group.  

Unleashed (2015), 202 pgs.
Since his dad is an inventor, you'd think that Griffin would be a shoe-in to win the inventing contest at his school. However, competing against his technology-genius friend, Melissa, is never a good idea. Despite the invention rivalry, when Melissa's invention goes missing, the team must come together once again to make sure it's a fair competition. 

Jingle (2016), 199 pgs.
After being unwillingly signed up for the annual Christmas extravaganza, Griffin and his friends begrudgingly participate--dressing as elves and handing out gifts. When the event is cancelled after a priceless artifact is stolen, the group is slightly relieved to be out of elf-duty--until the blame is shifted their way. In order to clear their names and keep the spirit of the holidays alive, the team completes another plan... this time to save Christmas. 

The Mercy of Gods

The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey, 448 pages

I first read this book about a year and a half ago, and realized that as awkward as my write-up was then, I'd write it exactly the same way now — in fact, when I first started writing this, I started it with the same sentence before I erased that and just chose to redirect you to that original blog post. Anyway, this made a bit more sense on the second read-through, and it was an excellent discussion in Orcs & Aliens. Can't wait to read the second book in this series, which I thankfully have sitting on my shelf at home.