The Butler

The Butler by Clare Macintosh, 201 pages

Freelance butler Baxter has never had trouble with the uberwealthy in his career. But when he arrives at a glamorous estate in Cannes (during the film festival, of course), he's in for a challenge. The "caretakers" have been hosting wild parties, and the family renting the mansion for the duration of the festival have more than their fair share of secrets and grudges. Throw in a pickpocket, some attempted robberies, and,  eventually, a dead body in the pool, and well, yes, Baxter is in over his head. However, he's determined to solve the many mysteries in the house, whether his clients want him to or not. (Not so spoiler: the butler did not do it in this one.)

The setup for this book is kind of fantastic, seeing the rich and obnoxious through the eyes of the high-end hired help. However, it didn't really follow through on that promise. It's too slow to be a thriller, and the dead body doesn't really appear until the middle of the book, making it a bit short on the mystery side too. That said, the setting for this book, both the mansion and Cannes itself, are so wonderfully created on the page that I felt like I was there. Or maybe I just wished I was.

And Side By Side They Wander

And Side By Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer, 112 pages

In the very near future, humans have nearly destroyed the planet, without any real way to fix it. In came an alien race that offered technologies and other solutions to Earth's problems, and all they asked in return was to take some of the best art humans had to offer and display it a their vast treelike space station/museum. The aliens would, of course, give it all back once humans had sufficiently gotten their act together. Three hundred years after the art left earth, we've managed to meet the criteria the aliens laid out so that we can get our art back. But they don't want to give it back, and they've repeatedly put off any efforts at resolution. So what can we do but send some forgeries with a crew of clones, synthetic humans, and a pilot from a different alien race to steal the originals back?

This is billed as a science fiction heist novel (which is like catnip to me), but that's not quite right. Yes, there's a heist, but that's kind of in the background of the main character's musings on what makes something art, what make someone human, why real art is more valued than forgeries, and the nature of museums in general. (That super-helpful alien race sounds suspiciously like the British Empire from time to time) It's a decent book though, one that would be good for a book discussion as there are PLENTY of meaty topics shoved into a very short book.

Angel Down

 Angel Down by Daniel Kraus (2025), 283 pages

This is an intense book. I actually listened to it (narrated amazingly by Kirby Heyborne) and felt unsettled through pretty much the whole novel. Forewarning - if your read it, it is ONE sentence. 

It is very hard to describe or categorize this book. On one level, it is the story of Private Cyril Bagger during WWI. On another level, it is humanity's reckoning with our collective morality (or lack thereof) and our inability to (on a group level) progress. There are a lot of heavy topics addressed through the background of war and the discovery of an Angel. I would not call this book fantasy, nor is it sci-fiction or magical realism. Maybe it is the reality that sits in the back of our minds and presents itself when under extreme duress. I don't know, but it is worth a read.

Isola

Isola by Allegra Goodman (2025), 346 pages

Isola is loosely based on the life of Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval who was stranded on an island off of New France (Canada) in the 1500s. Fascinatingly, her story is known because the regaled her saga to the Queen of Navarre who was a known writer and included it in her book Heptameron. 

We follow Marguerite from her life as a wealthy young woman to one that (as a woman) has no livelihood due to the death of her father. She is put under guardianship and is forced to join her Guardian, an explorer for the King, on an expedition to New World. During this time, she falls in love with her Guardian's assistant. The Guardian becomes enraged about this and strands Marguerite, his assistant, and Marguerite's maid on an island. 

The book has a heavy, almost gothic feel to it. While this is definitely a fictionalized version of the real events, I am honestly amazed she survived. The 1500s were no joke on the life-expectancy front. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but would have loved a little more detail on how she actually survived it all. I would have also enjoyed a little more background on her Guardian and the Assistant. The book covers a lot so tends to stay a bit surface level and I wanted the nitty-gritty.

The Deep Sky

 The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei (2023) 399 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla. This was recommended by author Mary Robinette Kowal when she spoke and signed books at Left Bank Books last year. There is an explosion on a deep space ship called the Phoenix that kills a small number of crew members. Who did it? The crew had spent ten years in cryogenic sleep. Now they are awake at about the halfway point to an unknown planet. The entire 80-something crew members are women. They are all expected to be impregnated by sperm donors, give birth in space, and then the new generation will continue humanity's existence on the planet that is their destination. Asuka is Japanese-American and a generalist with some skills in many departments. She survived the explosion when she was about to go on a space walk for repairs. She becomes the amateur detective tasked with finding who is sabotaging the mission. A large portion of the story is flashbacks. The Earth is facing environmental collapse. There were hundreds of pre-teen girls from many countries that applied for a highly competitive astronaut training program. We get to know a select group of these girls through their pre-teen and teen years. Some will be part of the deep space mission, some will be eliminated. Their relationships and stressful training adds great context. Countries are competing to have representatives make it through the program besides the interpersonal competition over grades. On Earth and in space virtual and augmented reality is very popular. On the Phoenix, there is a den mother type AI and augmented reality devices are implanted in the crew's temples. What could go wrong as Asuka investigates who planted the explosives??

A Crown of Stars

A Crown of Stars by Shana Abé, 352 pages

When Marguerite Jolivet was 18, she announced to her wealthy family that she was determined to become an actress, and moved to London with her younger sister, Inez, in tow. While still attending the society functions their mother demanded of them, Marguerite began a life treading the boards of the West End while Inez began a career as a master violinist. Before long, their careers took them around the world, with Marguerite beginning a career in silent films, and Inez and her new husband performing concerts worldwide. However, as they streaked toward fame and fortune, the world at large crept closer and closer to war. After the spark of World War I ignites, Marguerite and Inez's younger brother joins the military, and Marguerite books passage home on the fastest ship available, the RMS Lusitania. Those with a passing knowledge of history know what happened next.

This book is billed as a story of the Lusitania, and that disaster definitely features prominently in the second half of the book. However, I'd say that the true focus of the book is the very real Marguerite "Rita" Jolivet, her rise to fame, and the way that the German attack on the Lusitania affected Marguerite and her family. It's a captivating story about an amazing woman, and one I'd highly recommend.

The Fortunate Fall

The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed (1996) 289 pages

I read an article by Jo Walton on the Reactor magazine website a couple years ago that caused me to put this on my reading list. The article is edited from the introduction Walton wrote for this re-released edition of the book. I was intrigued by this cyberpunk world that wasn't so engulfed in noir. Most of the story takes place around Kazakhstan and it is a dystopian future. Maya Andreyeva is a "camera" working for a news network. She has audio and video equipment implanted in her head that can live broadcast what she hears and sees. There are also "screeners," who are like virtual producers providing research and graphics and editing for the broadcasts. Maya wants to investigate a holocaust/genocide that a previous world power committed and then nearly completely covered up. This leads her to finding a survivor from that time named Voskresenye. Maya interviews Voskresenye and falls deep into his scheming plans. Voskresenye had nearly died and was brought back to life Frankenstein style. He can only move around in the world with a cyborg carapace, which I imagined as a crab-like exoskeleton. He takes the place of the mad scientist who created him and furthers the cybernetic experiments. There are a few elements of this story that feel like a fairy tale. It constantly surprised me with the twists in the plot. The title and Voskresenye's ultimate goal to eliminate emotional suppression and restore the soul is tied to his own brand of theology. Maya developing feelings for the new "screener" assigned to her is engrossing until the end, when their lesbian romance just becomes angsty.

The Man Who Died Twice

 The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, 422 pages.

All the favors Elizabeth called in over the course of the Thursday Murder Club made some waves, and now her ex-husband is poking around and trying to get her to solve a certain issue he's having with some stolen diamonds and an angry gangster. But this game is more dangerous than the last, and the people they're investigating this time wouldn't hesitate to kill some inconvenient septuagenarians.

This was a strong second entry to the series. The stakes were more personal, but Osman still managed to delicately balance the tone so it felt sincere without being too heavy. I get the feeling this series might get stronger the longer it goes on, as we get to know all of the characters better and they get more depth. I don't know that this was quite as funny as the first book, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and I will be reading more. 

What Kind of Paradise

 What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown (2025), 368 pages

I am always intrigued by living off the land stories, especially involving homesteading from scratch. A part of me would love to opt out of the world and be left to my own devises and live life how I want. This is a cautionary tale on that. Jane's father has moved them to an isolated area of Montana to escape the modern world and the rise of the internet age. As many parents try to do, he feels his purpose is to shield her from this corruption and raise her with his radical ideals. As often happens, children become curious and start questioning their parent’s beliefs. This does not always end well.

I enjoyed the novel and appreciate Brown's attempt to delve into the tension between progress and the loss of traditional ways. There is a reason living as a hermit or in an echo chamber is mentally unhealthy. Human's need a challenge or counter-balance to their internal thoughts. I would have loved for Brown to expand upon this. I feel the book is just the beginning to a larger story.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, 352 pages

Cleopatra's story has been told hundreds of ways over thousands of years, yet none of them have really been from her point of view. But this book rectifies that. Instead of focusing on how she seduced Caesar and Marcus Antonius, and then how she died, this book paints a portrait of her as an intelligent woman, a loving mother, and a compassionate ruler. And since so much of what we know about Cleopatra is based on what historians who never met her told Plutarch, who was referenced by Shakespeare, who was read and performed by the masses, what El-Arifi writes in this book is just as likely to be true as anything else. It's captivating, it's thought-provoking, and it's a compelling story that doesn't end the way you think it might.

Also, I listened to the audiobook of this, and I must highly recommend it. It's read by Adjoa Andoh (best know to Bridgerton fans as the esteemed Lady Danbury) who does an AMAZING job of bringing an historic queen to life. The perfect narrator for this book.