Book reviews

This book is a delight for anyone who’s ever tried to sit in a nice cafe and have dinner by themselves while feeling self-conscious. It’s about how a person can still be lonely, even in a crowded city with people bustling all around.

Oozing blood and with many bumps in the night, Harrison artfully blends dread, passion and humor to give her readers a mixture of the Upside Down from “Stranger Things” and a Barbie Dreamhouse of fright.

You, the detective, are given evidence as the story progresses to try to solve the murder alongside the suspects themselves

The suspense during “Marriage at Sea” is painful yet riveting. It’s a horror movie. The end can’t come fast enough, yet there is also no looking away.

The food in “Gold Coast Dilemma” takes center stage as a celebration of Ghanaian culture, and as dish after delicious dish is served and described it will make readers’ stomachs rumble. Yet it is the deep and difficult-to-assemble dish of love across cultural divides that makes this book Malone’s best yet.

Holmes makes wry observations about the undercurrent of sexism in the media. At one point in Cecily’s office five men get together to talk about “supporting women in all the aspects of their lives.” The lack of situational awareness from the men might feel laugh-out-loud familiar.

In the last few years there has been so much perimenopause talk, it’s like women are having one extended, collective hot flash. And protagonist and TV executive Lisa Darling is one of those people.

Kirke’s dark humor is on display as she retells stories from her childhood throughout the book. As the youngest daughter of a rock star father, Simon Kirke of Bad Company, and a clothing designer mother, Lorraine, she was transplanted from London to a WestVillage brownstone when she was 5 years old. Yet behind the cool facade, the house was crumbling.

In short, all you need to know is in the title, and if you didn’t like Pickleball before, you’ll either be repelled or tempted to try.

Those waiting to read one of the best books of 2025 don’t have to wait long. “Homeseeking,” by Karissa Chen, has arrived on the scene early — and it’s a towering achievement in storytelling.

So much in life is unpredictable and readers can’t all write their own stories. Picking up a book where the ending is easily anticipated can offer something different, something relaxing. “Not in My Book” gives exactly that — a fun read with a little spice for kicks. 

To save her job — her in-office rival also wants the column — she reluctantly agrees, but with a twist: her children will choose her dates.

Get ready to be haunted by the creepiest new offerings and classics of Halloween-inspired literature. Here are a cauldron’s worth of books that embrace the pumpkin spice of the season and keep you on the chilliest edge of your seat!

While Petro’s recollections of her own life are certainly captivating, and hearing voices of women from around the country can be gratifying and fulfilling, there is nothing groundbreakingly original or insightful about this book.

“The Bookshop,” Evan Friss’s history of the book retail business, includes the didn’t-see-that-coming tale of Judy, a 3,000-pound elephant who signed books (with a stamp that dangled from her trunk, obviously) at Marshall Field’s booming books department in 1944.

As in “Sense and Sensibility,” the characters here learn to recognize the importance of reason and communication in relationships. They also learn to know themselves in spite of the “shoulds” fired at them from every direction, from family members to casual acquaintances.

“The Love of My Afterlife,” by Kirsty Greenwood, is “quirky” incarnate — with so much heart and comedy that readers will find it difficult not to laugh while reading.

Not many romance novels feature introverted women who don’t like being around people and have no need to kowtow to societal niceties. The problem is inherent for the writer: How do you make someone likable if they are hard to get to know?

While mining many of the tropes of the genre, Henry manages to remain at the top of her game by writing characters who are clear eyed and quirky, yet unsentimental.

“The Divorcees,” a debut novel from author Rowan Beaird, paints a vivid picture of divorce, set in the landscape of Nevada in the 1950s. The metaphor between the dry, desolate, barren landscape and characters is aptly drawn.

The author of “I Can’t Date Jesus” and “I Don’t Want to Die Poor,” Arceneaux bellyflops into the pool of life beyond buying shoes in this book of essays, and things get deep.

Magnolia Parks: Into the Dark” is so packed with unexpected plot twists that reading it is like dashing between cars on an interstate through a hailstorm of cannonballs with a flimsy umbrella as protection.

Strawser begins “The Last Caretaker” like an action-movie thriller, as she drops the reader into the story. Quickened heart rates continue to surge and ebb throughout this suspenseful book.

There’s an old joke: What did the Roman say when his wife was eaten by a lion? Gladiator.

Summer is waning but adventure doesn’t have to. Check out these travel books before closing out summer with one last escapade.

Fourth of July weekend is the best time to find a good beach towel, a nice grassy area and a big glass of water before settling in with a great read. Here are some old, new and classic titles our InReview contributors recommend!

It’s a difficult thing to say that a book about a child with depression who has attempted suicide is an enjoyable read — yet that’s how author Ann Hood makes the unthinkable happen.

Ms. Chung has a way of telling stories that is ordered and breezy. Her harmonious style will make readers nod along with understanding as her voice comforts and soothes, which is helpful because the stories she tells are not often soothing.

Henry masterfully creates a vivid world with ambiance through her descriptions of the coastal town and its inhabitants. These scenes are emotionally resonant and might remind readers of their own summer vacations.

Vuolo walks the tightrope of her own feelings and emotions, teetering between her close family and her own beliefs. At times her froideur toward her family is on blast, and other times that coolness hums in the background like the murmur of a congregation reciting Bible verses.

Although the book is classified as dystopian fiction, it is all too real in parts, taking a searing look at hypocrisy and social injustice in the land of the free, especially as it relates to the Asian-American community. The reader might struggle to decide if it’s truly set in the future or if that future is happening now.

This skillfully woven book is a study in the butterfly effect. Joan’s daily life is not remarkable but, taken together as a whole, her actions across time are. The book asks the question: Can meaningful connections be made in small moments and, over time, if those connections are broken can they survive in feeling?