The Things We Never Say

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (2026), 224 pages

I am not sure what to say about this book. I see what Strout was going for; Artie a middle-aged teacher struggles with his life, current political conditions, and what the future entails, but feel she really missed the mark. The book was almost painful to read as it clunkily tried to tackle big issues without garnering a whole lot of compassion and, really, any interest in the characters. I suspect the book would have been more compelling if Strout had written more and deep-dived some of the story lines. As is, it reads as a person trying to get their anger at the current state of the world out too fast and coming across frustrated and malcontent. I would pass on this if I was you.

A Fortune of Sand

A Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys (2026), 304 pages

Marjorie is the artistic youngest daughter of a Detroit automobile glass tycoon. She finds herself accepted into an exclusive arts residency program funded by secretive benefactor from which, life changing secrets unfold.

I wanted to like this book (as who doesn't want to know more about the dark underworld of Detroit during its automobile heyday), but it totally missed the mark. There was so much potential and interesting tidbits that the author could have delved more deeply into! Instead, we got an insufferable main character, an unbelievable benefactor, and a scattered storyline. I wish I had more to say, but that is all I got.

 

The Secret of Secrets

 The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6) by Dan Brown, 677 pages

I wanted to like this book, I really did. I love codes, intricate details and mysterious settings. I love learning interesting historical details. But I found this one to be TOO MUCH. Can we not have a conversation that doesn't include an esoteric detail in almost every sentence? The concept of the book was interesting and Brown has a way of convincing you of the believability of the far-out idea. Unfortunately, I feel he has fallen into the movie trap and has written for the screen and not the reader. To me, his Langdon novels have become formulaic and I am not sure I will read any more of them if they continue on in this vein. They have run their course.

The Deep Dark

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag, 480 pages

Mags is a teenager with some very adult problems on her hands — she's the primary caregiver for her ailing grandmother while juggling work and school too and her kinda-relationship with a girl must be hidden from the girl's boyfriend. Oh yeah, there's also a secret monster in the basement that leaves her bleeding and exhausted every night, and could kill people if it got out. But when a childhood friend returns, Mags finally gets some of the support she needs, and she begins to realize that things don't have to be the way they are.

This graphic novel beautifully tells a complex story of identity, family prejudice, and finding comfort with who you are. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the story is so thought-provoking (and is obviously so personal to Ostertag) that I'm still turning it over in my mind more than a month after reading it. Highly recommended.

A Very Bad Thing

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison, 495 pages

Bestselling novelist Columbia Jones never gives interviews, limits public appearances to short bookstore tours when each title is released. Yet for her newest novel, she's asked a single investigative journalist to accompany on her publicity tour, offering an exclusive, in-depth interview and profile. Just as the tour wraps up and journalist Riley is getting ready for her final interview before writing and publishing the profile, Columbia is found dead in her hotel room. That's shocking enough, but when Riley learns she's been named as a beneficiary in Columbia's will, Columbia's carefully constructed personal history begins to unwind, in shocking and often confusing ways.

It's hard  to talk about this book without giving away all of the twists and turns. I'll just say that it was a propulsive story that makes you question how much you can trust the public persona of anyone famous, yet manages to do so without making the celebrity a true villain. It's twisty and kept me guessing throughout.

The Ascent

The Ascent by Allison Buccola, 352 pages

Lee grew up in a cult, and when the rest of the group disappeared mysteriously when she was 12, Lee became the sole survivor. For years, she's hidden this background from almost everyone, including her husband, and has tried to move on. But now there's a documentary about the cult on a popular streaming service and someone she thought she lost may have popped back up in her life. Combine that with her strained marriage and her fear of leaving her infant daughter, and Lee is questioning everything she thought she knew.

I honestly didn't think about the fact that I was reading this at the same time the latest rapture was supposed to happen (spoiler alert: it didn't), but that might be because the cultish part of this book didn't play nearly as impactful as I thought it would — I assumed by the title, the cover, the flap copy, etc. that this book would bring the main character back into the cultish fold or at least focus on her attempt to escape that fate. Instead, it's more of a backstory and explanation for her psychoses, while the big twists kinda come out of nowhere and have nothing to do with the cult. It almost felt like the author had a great idea for a character, but didn't really know what to do with her and ended up with a kinda blah plot. Feel free to pass this one by.

A Killing Cold

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall, 304 pages

After a whirlwind romance, Theo heads to meet her fiancé Connor's family for Christmas at their remote mountain getaway, Idlewood. But just before the trip, Theo starts receiving anonymous texts warning her to stay away from Connor and threatening to expose Theo's checkered past, part of which she has no memory of. When she arrives, Theo realizes that someone in Connor's uber-rich immediate family must have sent the texts, and between a sudden resurgence in disturbing nightmares and her suspicions about Connor's family, Theo's on edge for an already high-stress situation.

This is a twisty thriller that combines blackmail and manipulation, deeply buried family secrets, and the very real terror of meeting the future in-laws (though massively heightened, of course). There are a few things that push past the edge of believability, but as that fits the genre, it doesn't really bother me here. It's a domestic thriller that keeps the reader guessing.

The Midnight Feast

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley (2024) 354 pages

Francesca and her architect-husband Owen, have opened an ultra upscale resort at the top of a cliff by the sea in Dorset, England. The resort includes part of a huge forest. A moodiness prevails in the setting, with crows‒some humongous‒seeming to cast judgement. The locals in the area are resentful of the resort owners and their rich patrons, especially angry because the resort has cut them off from their ability to go through the forest and to access the sea easily.

It's opening weekend and Francesca is obsessed with having everything just right, to get good publicity from all the top raters. But what she hadn't counted on was Bella, a young woman who came to the resort alone. Bella had spent a summer in the area 15 years ago. Something very bad happened here that summer, when Bella met Frankie, the granddaughter of the people who owned the mansion at that time, but what?

The point of view changes with the chapters‒primarily Bella, Francesca, Owen, and Eddie, a farm boy who has taken a job washing dishes at the resort. The time also pivets back and forth.

The story is often dark, with a few characters that are somewhat caricatured. Riveting, in its dark way, the story grows more complex, with the characters more connected than they seemed at first glance.

The Couple at the Table

The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah (2022) 358 pages

A murder takes place at an exclusive resort. All the employees have left the premises, except for Anita, the woman in charge. She is in a dining area with all the guests, except for a husband and wife who have returned to their quarters after an exhaustive series of verbal sparring between Jane (the wife) and practically all the other guests, including her husband, William. One couple, Simon and Charlie, are cops on a holiday, and they decide to check on the couple and find William is in a trance-like daze, sitting with his back to Jane, who is dead on the floor. But William is cleared in the murder, because blood splatters from the stabbing have soaked through the slats in his chair onto his clothing, showing that he had to have been in that chair while his wife was killed behind him.

The guests say they were all together while the cops were checking on William and Jane. The resort  has cameras that indicate that no one from the outside got in. Six months have passed by. Chapters indicating differing characters' points of view alternate between July (when the murder occurred) and January (when the case gets more attention again).

It's a classic mystery with an interesting array of characters, keeping this reader, at least, in the dark until the big reveal.

Improbably Yours

Improbably Yours by Kerry Anne King (2022) 329 pages

Blythe is turning 30 and feels the pressure to take on the life that her mother, sister and boyfriend want for her. But everything is upended when she's unexpectedly given her grandmother's ashes along with the job to go to a specific island, find the spot where something special was buried long ago, and then to inter the ashes in that place. If she is successful, she will inherit $500,000 that her grandmother had put into a trust for her.

By leaving her boyfriend and rejecting a high-profile job which he had lined up for her, Blythe reaches for the unknown, and the chance to find out what she really wants to do with her life. She books a spot on the island of Vinland, a tourist destination for treasure-seeking. The tourists choose to be Vikings or Pirates, and they learn how to use metal detectors to find clues that have been planted for them. But Blythe's hunt is a much different one, and she meets a few people on the island who try to help her find where to bury her grandmother's ashes - in particular, Flynn, a man who doesn't really want to be on the island, but who came to be with his 12-year old niece after his sister died, and Savannah, the niece. The uncle and niece are butting heads constantly.

Blythe's grandmother has been dead for 24 years, but when she was still alive, she and Blythe had such a playful and loving relationship, with more than a touch of make-believe magic in it. Or *was* it make-believe? This book is filled with magic, at least one ghost, lots of ravens (including one who talks), and a lot of secrets.

The No-Show

The No-Show by Beth O'Leary (2022) 329 pages

Siobhan, Miranda and Jane have all been stood up by the same guy on Valentine's Day. Siobhan sees Joseph as a hook-up, Miranda thinks she has the whole package, and Jane, afraid of relationships, works to keep Joseph as a friend, although she secretly wants more. The women don't know about each other, at least not at first.

Joseph, the mystery man, seems to be the perfect guy, sensitive and thoughtful, but it's clear that he's holding back something in his relationships. The women are, too. Siobhan, who is a life coach, had a bad breakup and isn't as confident as she seems. Miranda climbs and trims trees for a living, and while dating Joseph, is avoiding one of her co-workers who is known for his many sexual hook-ups. Apparently Jane is suffering from something that happened at work a few years ago, after which she left London to find solace in smaller Winchester. She's living very quietly, avoiding most people. Even as the characters feel their doubts about their relationships, we slowly learn their secrets while additional surprises are queued up.

I did not expect to like all the main and (most of the) secondary characters so well in this book whose premise seems to indicate a "fluff" read. Nor did I expect the novel to be a deeper read than I anticipated.

Ties That Tether

 Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo (2020) 306 pages

Azere is a 25-year-old Nigerian-born woman living in Toronto. When she was 12 and still living in Nigeria, her father extracted a deathbed promise from her that she would marry a Nigerian. Her strong-willed mother is holding her to the promise, setting her up with Nigerian men with whom Azere finds no spark; some are male chauvinists who expect her to give up her career in advertising, which is not acceptable to her. After a particularly bad date, she goes into a hotel lounge and meets Rafael, a white man who is in town to apply for a job in Toronto, where he had lived in the past and wants to return. The chemistry is there, and they have a one-night stand.

They are both shocked a month later, when Raphael is introduced as a new employee at her company. It's awkward because Azere really wants to please her mother by finding a Nigerian man, but she finds herself unable to stop thinking about Raphael. Now she must take a stand one way or another, pitting herself against her mother by choosing to be with Raphael and possibly losing her culture, or by giving up the one man she has a strong connection to.

The story is reminiscent of some novels I've read where Asian-American parents try to choose mates for their adult children, but with a Nigerian backstory, in this case. And some secrets to shake things up.

The Guest List

 The Guest List by Lucy Foley (2020) 313 pages

Jules, a successful online magazine publisher is set to marry Will, an up-and-coming reality television star. Their opulent wedding is to take place on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, at a castle-like estate owned by Aoife, a wedding planner, and her husband Freddy, a chef. The members of the wedding party and the guests include Jules's half sister Olivia, Jules's best friend Charlie and his wife Hannah, Will's best man Johnno, and the four ushers, all of whom went to boarding school with Will and Johnno. Secrets abound in this group. And as happy as the beautiful bridal couple seem, Jules finds herself obsessing about an anonymous note she received, telling her not to marry Will, that he is a cheat and a liar.

The story is structured in a series of time shifts. It starts at the moment in the huge outdoor reception tent when a storm has caused the power to fail, and brings us back in time in certain characters' lives to set the stage, and then advances the plot until we're back at "now." We know from the beginning that someone will die and someone is a murderer. (It's not a spoiler; it's on the book flap!) As the story and the suspense build, it's clear that the victim and the murderer could be anyone!

Nights when nothing happned

 Nights when nothing happened / Simon Han, 262 pgs.

The Cheng family seems successful from the outside.  The parents immigrated from China then brought their son...a daughter was born a bit later.  In the end, the Chinese origin story seems minor compared to the inner workings of the family and the struggles that each endures apart from the others.  When Annabel has a friend over for a Thanksgiving gathering, a series of misunderstandings lead to the belief that she has experienced a "bad touch" and soon her father is under investigation.  The relationships of the 4 family members leave doubt about who is guilty of what...they seem to have very little trust in each other and are struggling with their own internal demons.  It takes this bigger event to move them towards a reckoning with their own struggles.  Is it a dysfunctional family or a group of dysfunctional individuals?  Who cares?  This is my sweet spot!

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon (2015) 353 pages

In a small English village in 1976, a neighbor goes missing. Unable to believe Margaret Creasy is dead, her husband is turning their house upside down in order to figure out what caused her to leave. It becomes evident that something happened ten years ago that caused a stir in the neighborhood before he was married. He can't sleep, but instead roams the neighborhood at night, stopping everywhere she used to go. He fears that someone told his wife about this event, causing her to leave. 

Two ten-year-old girls—Gracie and Tilly—often pretend not to listen so that adults will talk more freely when they're around. They decide to spend the summer, which is an especially sweltering one, trying to figure out what happened to Mrs. Creasy. When they ask the vicar how to stop a person from disappearing, he says they need to find God. The girls decide to look for God, working their way through the neighborhood, asking everyone, even going to the house at #11 The Avenue, where they've been told not to go.

Through periodic flashbacks from ten years ago, a picture starts forming of a village mob mentality, what happened, and how it affected the villagers for the next ten years. Sad but sweet, troubling but uplifting.

The Husband's Secret

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (2013) 396 pages

In Sydney, Australia, Cecelia accidentally finds a letter in her attic addressed to her, to be opened in the case of her husband's death. But John-Paul is very much alive, and when he learns that she has found the letter, he freaks out, leading her to open the letter after she has agreed not to. What Cecelia learns will turn her life upside down, making the very organized woman lose her focus in everything she was known for: selling Tupperware, organizing parents at the local Catholic elementary school, hosting large parties, etc. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Tess has just been told that her cousin Felicity and her husband Will are in love. She flees to Sydney with her six-year-old son to figure out what to do next while helping our her mother, who has broken her ankle. Another family group in Sydney includes Rachel, a 68-year-old woman who still acutely feels the loss of her 17-year old daughter some 28 years ago. The killer has never been found, and the only balm for her hurt is her two-year old grandson. She has just learned that her son and daughter-in-law plan to move to New York for two years, which devastates her. She comes across some information that she believes fingers her daughter's killer after all this time and she is determined to find justice.

Liane Moriarty weaves a most compelling story around these different families, linking them together. The interrelated plots are captivating, and how the characters speak and deal with their quandaries rings true. I don't usually read a book of this length in one day, but this one wouldn't let go!

All This Could Be Yours

All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg (2019) 299 pages

Victor, a rich, 73 year old man on the threshold of death, lies in a hospital in New Orleans, a victim of a heart attack. This book looks into his life and into the lives of his family: wife, Barbra, daughter Alex, and son Gary.

Alex has flown to New Orleans to be with her mother, and she presses her mother about what crimes and misdeeds her father did during their years in Connecticut, and especially wants to know why Barbra stayed with him, since he was so abusive. Barbra, on the other hand, wants Alex to make her peace with her father.

Gary, staying in Los Angeles, is trying to find work as an assistant director of television programming. He struggles with whether or not to return to see his father before he dies. Meanwhile, his wife, Twyla, is in New Orleans, struggling with her own demons.

The story abounds with multifaceted characters and rings true, although it's hard to square why Barbra did stay with Victor. Then again, that's often true in abusive relationships. It was hard to put this book down.

The Last Anniversary

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty (2005) 388 pages

Sophie is thirty-nine, starting to despair of finding a husband and having a baby, keenly aware that her biological clock is ticking. She broke up with her boyfriend Thomas three years ago and hasn't had luck finding anyone else. She learns that Connie, an old woman she had met through Thomas just a few times, has died, leaving Sophie her home on Scribbly Gum Island, a small island within commuting distance of Sophie's human resources job on the Australian mainland. It turns out that almost everyone in Thomas's family had really taken to her, especially Connie, who helped raise Thomas's grandmother.

Sophie is subsequently pulled in to life on the island which is notable for a mystery that had occurred 73 years prior: Connie and her sister Rose found a baby in their grandfather's old home which was rented out, who had apparently been abandoned by her parents. They raised the baby, naming her Enigma, and then capitalized on the mystery by keeping the home as it was and showing it to tour groups and selling related merchandise. Sophie's geniality helps her gather hints that indicate more is known about the disappearance of Enigma's parents than is being said openly.

This book, by the author of Big Little Lies, is like an upscale soap opera, with surprises galore. Tantalizing hints come regularly. When I thought all was said and done, even the last page knocked me for a loop. Great read!

Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (2014) 458 pages

Early on we learn that there has been a death at a grade school trivia night fundraiser. The police are investigating it as a murder. Then the story shifts back in time six months to when Jane, a young single mother new to the area meets Madeline, a mother of a teenager and two grade school children, and Celeste, the quiet, elegant mother of twins, married to an extremely rich man. The parents of the school's children become divided over an incident during the kindergarten orientation, in which a child, Ziggy, is accused of hurting the daughter of a rich, influential parent. Madeline and Celeste side with Jane (Ziggy's mother) while the other side starts a petition to oust Ziggy from the school. Ziggy is a sweet child, but he refuses to talk about the incident, which has his mother wondering about whether he might indeed be responsible.

Meanwhile, all sorts of other things are happening: Madeline's teenage daughter is keeping Madeline's emotions all over the place. We learn about how Jane became pregnant and why Ziggy's father is not in his life. Most prominently is a deep look into the abusive relationship between Celeste and her husband as they continue to outwardly portray the perfect couple.

As I read, I couldn't help but obsess about the murder, with so many unknowns. The points of view from several different people who attended the trivia night are inserted at the end of many of the chapters, reminding me of the interview style used in the TV show The Office. By seeing their statements, we have clues‒but not nearly enough‒about who didn't die. But who DID die?! Very fast-paced book, entertaining even though it deals with serious subjects. I can see why this book was chosen for the HBO miniseries with its likable characters (as well as unlikable ones), mystery and intrigues.

Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets

Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets by John Woolf & Nick Baker  250 pp. (page number count from Goodreads)

This is a fun, quirky audiobook that was a free download from Audible in November. It is narrated by Stephen Fry (hence the title) in his best upper crust English. Each chapter covers a different category of "secrets" of the outwardly straight-laced Victorian life. Included are juicy tidbits about death and dying, mental illness, pornography, toilets, secret societies, drug use, seances, sex, and more which prove that the Victorians were not as stodgy as they seem.