Summer is winding down and I’m ready for fall and the cooler weather, cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes and new books that come with it! Summer is great but there’s nothing like curling up with a good book and a cup of tea to while away a fall afternoon!!
My recommendations for the best books to read fall 2024 include recently published contemporary fiction, historical fiction, romance, and mysteries/thrillers all of which I have personally read and can recommend.
Have fun planning your fall reading list and enjoy a book-filled season!!
You Might Also Enjoy Reading:
27 of the Best Books To Read Fall 2023
22 of the Best Books To Read Fall 2022
29 Books For Your Fall 2021 Reading List
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1. The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull
Setting: Berlin, Germany
The Berlin Apartment is a sweeping love story spanning the years 1961-1989 about a young couple separated overnight by the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Lise Bauer, who lives in East Berlin, met and fell in love with Uli Neumann at the university in West Berlin where she is studying medicine. One evening in August 1961, Uli proposes to Lise while showing her the apartment that he has purchased for them and she happily accepts before leaving to spend the weekend with her father and brother at their country house outside of Berlin. Two days after their engagement, the wall goes up overnight preventing her from crossing the border checkpoint to attend school or to see Uli. Uli and their close group of friends are determined to get Lise out of East Berlin but, as weeks turn to months, hope for reunion begins to fade.
This is the second historical novel that I have read in recent months centred on the Berlin Wall (the other was The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay) and both books made me really think about how that wall affected the people living in the city. Both authors do a great job of bringing that experience to life – the pain of years-long separation from loved ones as well as the harsh reality of life behind the Iron Curtain with indoctrination, poverty, shortage of basic goods, oppression and constant surveillance by secret police.
I’m seeing more historical fiction set during the Cold War now and that appeals to me partly because I grew up during the tail-end of that era but also because I’m starting to lose interest in WWII as I have read so many novels set during that time period. This book is well-written, compelling historical fiction/romance that focuses on the personal impact of the Cold War and the decision to divide Berlin. It doesn’t include a ton of historical or political details but it will likely inspire you to do some additional reading to learn more about the time period.
2. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Setting: Ireland
Family relationships, love and grief are at the heart of this story about two brothers who have little in common. Peter Koubek is a 32 year-old successful barrister in Dublin while his brother, Ivan, is a socially awkward 22 year-old recent university graduate and competitive chess player. Their father has died after being ill with cancer for several years and the novel takes place during the first few months after his death when both men are struggling to come to terms with life without him.
Mourning and trying to make sense of their own troubled relationship is complicated for Peter and Ivan by their messy love lives. Ivan has recently become involved with a 36 year-old woman who he meets at an out-of-town chess tournament and Peter is torn between two women – a longtime girlfriend who left him after she was badly injured in an accident that left her in chronic pain and a free-spirited young college student living in an illegal squat and dabbling in drug dealing and online sex work to make ends meet.
One of my daughters has been recommending Sally Rooney to me for a couple of years but Intermezzo is the first book of hers that I’ve picked up. I’m older than Rooney’s typical reader and, given all the hype, I half expected to be disappointed but this was very good.
This is a beautifully-written, insightful novel about loneliness, despair, grief and love – of the romantic sort as well as familial. Neither of the brothers in Intermezzo are themselves because of their grief and the struggle to work though hurt feelings, sibling rivalry and long-held grudges while coming to terms with their loss is quite moving. Rooney’s characters may be young adults but anyone who has lost someone close to them will relate to how difficult the interlude can be before life starts to feel livable again.
3. Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger
Setting: Cross-Canada Road Trip (Ontario to British Columbia)
Briefly married more than 40 years ago, Kathleen and Yannick haven’t spoken to each other in 19 years. They were happily divorced while they raised their daughter, Una, but then a disagreement caused them to walk away from each other and never look back. Until now.
Unexpected news about Una arrives from the West Coast and Yannick turns up in the small town where Kathleen still lives asking her to drive to British Columbia with him. Kathleen reluctantly agrees and the two head out in Yannick’s old pickup truck on the long road trip across Canada from Ontario to Vancouver Island.
Moon Road alternates point-of-view between Kathleen and Yannick with a few short chapters from Una’s pov slowly unfurling the couple’s past history as they travel more than 2,000 miles across the country. I don’t want to give away any of the story so I’ll just say that this is a sensitive depiction of unimaginable loss and of a couple finally laying their grief to rest. Compelling and unforgettable – a story about family, marriage, parenthood, loss, hope and healing – this is sure to be one of my best reads of the year.
4. The Starlets by Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne
Setting: Italy, France, Monaco
1958 – Hollywood starlet, Vivienne Rhodes, thinks she has finally landed her big break playing Helen of Troy in a big-budget epic called A Thousand Ships which is expected to be the blockbuster hit that turns around the fortunes of failing studio Apex Pictures. Vivienne, however, is devastated when she arrives on the remote Italian island of Tavalli to start filming and learns that changes to casting have been made and she is now playing Cassandra while her nemesis Lottie Lawrence has been given the leading role. Shortly after filming begins, the two arch rivals stumble into an illegal operation on set and find themselves on the run with key evidence trying desperately to contact someone at Interpol.
Alternating points-of-view between the two women, this was a light, fun read – a fast-paced European adventure combining the glamour of Old Hollywood with the thrill of a murder mystery and a frenetic running-for-their-lives chase across Europe that takes them to Monaco, across France to the Alps, to Rome’s Cinecittà Studio and finally back to Tavalli where the lives of cast and crew are in grave danger.
The mystery is twisty and satisfying as is the unlikely development of an enemies to friends relationship between the two former rivals. The Starlets is an entertaining read with a plot that could easily have been pulled from an Old Hollywood movie – perfect for a fall or winter afternoon of reading while curled up on the couch!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
5. Peggy: A Novel by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison
Setting: New York City, Europe
I thoroughly enjoyed this intriguing historical fiction novel about American heiress and art philanthropist Peggy Guggenheim by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison. The novel itself has a fascinating backstory as Godfrey, an acclaimed novelist and true crime writer, had been working on the novel for a decade but died before she could finish it and her friend and colleague, Leslie Jamison, was asked to complete the book.
The story is told from Peggy’s point-of-view and is divided into three parts spanning the years 1912-1938. Part I: The Old Masters begins in 1912 when Peggy is a young teenager and covers her adolescence and coming-of-age in New York City. Part II: Surrealism picks up in 1922 when Peggy has moved to Paris and encompasses her turbulent marriage to Laurence Vail and their lives in France through the 1920s. Part III: Modernism skips ahead to 1938 when Peggy is nearly 40 and using her inheritance to establish an art gallery in London, socializing with various famous people including James Joyce and involved in a love affair with Samuel Beckett. The main novel ends before she purchases the palazzo in Venice where the Peggy Guggenheim Collection now resides, however, an epilogue in 1958 has her reflecting on the city of Venice, her life and loves and her art collection.
A slow-paced, character-driven novel that has been meticulously researched, Peggy is a richly drawn portrait of an incredible groundbreaking woman that provides the reader an opportunity to get to know Peggy Guggenheim the woman behind the name. I knew very little about her beyond the basic facts before reading this novel and was fascinated by this fictional reimagining of the woman, her personal life and her philanthropy. A compelling read about a woman who came into her own over a period of many years and discovered what she wanted from her life and what she wanted her legacy to be!
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending an ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
6. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Setting: Ibiza, Spain
The Life Impossible opens with 72 year-old retired maths teacher Grace Winters receiving an email from a former student who is depressed and she responds by writing down this story and sending it to him.
Recently widowed and still grieving the death of her young son three decades earlier, Grace was alone in her small house in England and just going through the motions of living. One day she is notified that she has been bequeathed a home on the island of Ibiza in the Spanish Balearic islands from a long-lost friend as a thank you for a long forgotten kindness. Grace decides to book a one-way ticket to Ibiza to learn more about the house and to find out what happened to her one-time friend, Christina. Not long after arriving on Ibiza, Grace is talked into a late night diving excursion and acquires supernatural abilities when she experiences a mysterious light known as ‘la Presencia’ in the ocean.
There’s an element of mystery relating to Christina’s disappearance and apparent drowning and also a topical environmental subplot but mostly this is meant to be an uplifting story with a positive message about appreciating every moment in life and our connection to everything in the universe. Grace recovers her ability to feel and learns that life is still possible even at her age and after all she has been through – demonstrating the power of connection to change lives.
I thought The Life Impossible was just ok but I think that’s probably a “me” problem as it has been mostly favourably reviewed by both critics and readers – by all means, read and draw your own conclusions. This is the first Matt Haig book that I have read and I should have guessed that I might be an outlier as I very rarely enjoy magical realism – I have a lawyer brain trained to think logically and analytically and it’s not easy for me to let that go and appreciate magic!
7. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Setting: Brooklyn and South Florida
Told over two timelines, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is the story of an elderly woman who gets a second chance at happiness.
In 1987, 79 year-old Augusta is a recently retired pharmacist who leaves New York City to move into a retirement residence in South Florida and discovers that one of the other residents is Irving Rivkin who was a delivery boy at her father’s pharmacy in 1920s Brooklyn. In the ’20s timeline, Augusta is a young teenager who has recently lost her mother and her great-aunt Esther moves in to the family home above the pharmacy to help out. Aunt Esther is a healer and the women in the neighbourhood are soon coming to her for her unconventional remedies and potions. Augusta is fascinated by Esther and wants to learn how to make her aunt’s elixirs but also wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a pharmacist.
When her father hires Irving, the two become friends and later romantically involved but something happened to tear them apart leaving Augusta heartbroken and confused about what went wrong. Augusta never married as she was busy with her career and never truly got over Irving but when it becomes clear that Irving also still has feelings for her after all these years, Augusta must decide if she can forgive him for what happened 60 years earlier and take a chance on love.
A charming and delightful story about second chances that also touches on the roles and expectations of women in the 1920s and beyond. Both amusing and touching at times, this is a feel good story with a message that it’s never too late for love and happiness.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
8. The Maui Effect by Sara Ackerman
Setting: Hawaii, California, Portugal
The Maui Effect is the first contemporary romance by bestselling author Sara Ackerman who is best known for her historical fiction novels set on the Hawaiian islands.
‘Iwa is a young biologist who is happy to spend most of her time in the Maui rainforest among the trees, birds and waterfalls while also helping out her dad at his restaurant. When a developer announces plans to build an “eco-resort” in the middle of a forest that is habitat to many of the island’s endangered species, she and her co-worker, Winston, are determined to halt the development and protect the forest. A chance encounter with Dane, a surfer from California, however, leads to a globe hopping romance chasing the big waves from Maui to California to Portugal which is difficult to balance with ‘Iwa’s environmental work.
I have enjoyed several of the author’s historical novels so was looking forward to this release but didn’t enjoy the romance quite as much as I had hoped. I did, however, love the setting particularly the lush descriptions of the rainforest on Maui as well as the environmental message about the importance of saving the rainforest and endangered species.
9. The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
Setting: Australia
Kindhearted Frederick Fife is 82 years old, broke, desperately lonely and on the brink of homelessness but his luck is about to change. Fred is out walking along the Wattle River when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he is assumed to be Bernard Greer who is a resident of the local nursing home. Fred tries to explain who he is but the staff assume Bernard is just confused and showing signs of dementia so Fred gives up and decides perhaps it’s ok to “borrow” Bernard’s life so he can have warm meals to eat and a roof over his head.
It doesn’t take long for Fred, who leaves a trail of kindness behind him, to become an important part of the lives of everyone at the home including Denise, a middle-aged caregiver who is so stressed about her daughter’s health and her failing marriage that she’s miserable at work.
A heartwarming, feel-good story about an elderly Australian man and a zany case of mistaken identity that allows him one last chance to be part of a family. The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is the kind of book that will make you smile and likely tear up a bit as well with an amusing plot, charming characters and a touching message about grief, regrets, forgiveness, found family and the importance of living life to the fullest for all the time that you have.
10. Dear Eliza by Andrea J. Stein
Setting: New York City
Eliza’s mom died of cancer when she was 16 and and now 10 years later her dad has died suddenly. After Eliza’s dad’s funeral, her aunt Claude gives her a letter that her mother wrote before she died but didn’t want Eliza to read until after her father’s death. The shocking details of the letter turn Eliza’s life upside down and make her question everything she thought she knew about her family and herself.
While Eliza is trying to navigate her grief and process the shocking information revealed in her mother’s letter, she is also managing a busy workload at her non-profit job and turmoil in her personal relationships. Her brother is grieving and angry with Eliza’s choices, her stepmother wants to disinherit her and her best friend doesn’t understand what she’s going through – it seems the only person she can depend on is her brother’s best friend, Josh, who she had a crush on in high school.
Dear Eliza is a well-written story of a young woman coping with grief whose experience will especially resonate with anyone who has lost a parent. The book explores grief, identity and relationships (parent/child relationships, sibling relationships, friendship and romantic relationships) and although it’s primarily about Eliza learning to cope with her grief, there is also a sweet, slow-burn romance side plot that is a nice addition.
Thank you to NetGalley, Girl Friday Productions and Andrea J. Stein for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
11. Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens
Setting: Bath, England
Anna Appleby is a disillusioned divorcée and mom of two in her late ’30s working as a columnist at a magazine in Bath, England. With her job in jeopardy and rival columnist Will Havers vying for her job, Anna is desperate and finds herself pitching a unique angle for her column – she’ll go on a series of seven dates with men chosen by her children and found offline.
Anna gamely takes on the challenge by asking out a number of men including a waiter, her mailman and her son’s friend’s dad but when a romantic connection appears where she least expected it, will she be brave enough to take another chance on love?
Another charming rom-com from Sophie Cousens – I have read all of her books so far and enjoyed each of them! This one is a fun enemies to lovers rom-com – I laughed out loud A LOT while reading it! Will and all of the supporting characters are great but I think Anna will be relatable to many moms (divorced or not) who have been so focused on their kids that they have lost themselves a little. I am also a huge Jane Austen fan and have wanted to visit Bath forever so I LOVED the setting of this book and all of the Jane Austen references!
12. The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley
Setting: Seattle, LA, Berlin, Paris, Iceland
Described as a love letter to rock ‘n’ roll and star-crossed love, The Lightning Bottles is the story of a small-town Canadian girl and a boy from Seattle whose meteoric rise to stardom as one of the world’s most popular ’90s rock duos ended in tragedy.
Told in a dual timeline, Jane Pyre is still haunted in 1999 by the disappearance without a trace of Elijah Hart, her bandmate and soulmate, five years earlier. Misunderstood, blamed and subjected to relentless and often cruel public scrutiny, Jane purchases a secluded home in the German countryside but is immediately recognized by Hen, the sullen teenage girl next door, who is a Lightning Bottles superfan. Hen claims to have proof that Elijah is alive and leaving messages for Jane and convinces her that the two of them need to travel to Berlin to see the first clue.
Flashback chapters show the development of the relationship and musical partnership between Jane and Elijah, their whirlwind rise to fame and their eventual downfall. Jane bonds with Elijah over their mutual love of music in an online chat room in 1989 and on the eve of her 18th birthday she leaves home and drives to Seattle to be with him. On the strength of Jane’s lyrics and Elijah’s voice, their band the Lightning Bottles is catapulted to almost instant fame as part of the ’90s alternative rock scene which in turn brings intense pressure to repeat the success, excessive partying, drugs, addiction and an out of control downward spiral.
Lightning Bottles is a well-written, compelling read about the ’90s music scene and the dark side of fame. The story is packed with nostalgia for the ’90s (particularly the alternative rock and Grunge music that came out of Seattle during the Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love era) and includes many pop culture references and fictional characters that are clearly based on real life people.
This is a story about teenagers launching music careers and their rise to fame is filled with angst and melodrama but the plot also touches on issues such as misogyny in the music business where women like Jane are vilified and blamed for everything that goes wrong while Elijah is held blameless for his own weaknesses and mistakes.
Most of the story takes place in the flashback chapters and I would have liked to have more of the 1999 timeline where Jane and Hen search for mysterious clues in Berlin, Paris and Iceland but overall this was an entertaining character-driven read. The inclusion of lyrics to all of the Lightning Bottles songs at the end of the book is a nice touch!
13. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Setting: England, South Carolina, St. Lucia, Ireland and Dubai
Steve Wheeler is a widowed and recently retired police officer enjoying the quiet life in an English village with his cat, his weekly pub quiz with friends and the occasional piece of small town investigative work. His daughter-in-law, Amy, however, is living an adrenaline-filled life as a private bodyguard currently working on a remote island in the US protecting bestselling murder mystery author, Rosie D’Antonio.
But when a money-smuggling supervillain attempts to eliminate Amy and frame her for a string of murders of social media influencers, she reaches out for help from the one person she knows she can trust. Steve is initially reluctant but soon finds himself caught up in a race around the world with Amy and Rosie to solve the crime before the hired killer catches up with Amy.
We Solve Murders was my first Richard Osman book as I haven’t read any of the Thursday Murder Club books and I thought it was a fun read. This is the first in a brand new series and features short, easy to read chapters and an entertaining story with a fair bit of globetrotting in addition to the English village setting – a great choice when you’re in the mood for a cozy mystery!
14. The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin
Setting: Nottingham, England
This historical fiction novel about a young mother takes place mostly over the first couple of years of World War II in Nottingham, England.
Emma, a young widow with no family to rely on, lives with her 7 year-old daughter, Olivia, in a boarding house in Nottingham on the eve of World War II. Emma struggles to provide for her small family because married women including widows were not allowed to work, however, an opportunity arises at the Boots’ Booklover’s Library and Emma is hired by a compassionate manager who is willing to overlook the fact that she is a widow.
When the threat of war becomes a reality and German bombing campaigns increase the danger to residents of Nottingham, Emma must face the agonizing choice between keeping Olivia with her in the city or evacuating her to live with strangers in the countryside.
The Booklover’s Library is a heartwarming wartime mother/daughter story about the hardships faced during the war and the lengths that a mother would go to in order to protect her child. The story is well-researched and weaves historical information into the plot relating to the evacuation of children via Operation Pied Piper. the marriage bar that prevented women who were married as well as widows from working, the work of the WVS (Women’s Voluntary Services) and the general struggles that women faced during that time period because of sexist laws and societal attitudes. I particularly enjoyed learning about the lending libraries operated by the Boots’ chain of chemists that lent books to patrons via subscription.
This is a lovely story about the importance of books and of community to provide comfort in difficult times that includes a sweet romance storyline – a good option for anyone who enjoys light historical fiction!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
15. real ones by katherena vermette
Setting: Primarily in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Real Ones is the story of two Michif or Métis (on their father’s side) sisters – lyn who is an artist who makes pottery in Winnipeg, Manitoba where they grew up and June who is a professor of Indigenous Studies. June has just purchased a house in their old Winnipeg neighbourhood and is in the process of moving back from Vancouver with her husband when a news story breaks about their estranged and very white mother, Renée, who has been passing herself off as an Indigenous artist named Raven Bearclaw winning awards and accolades for her work.
The news sparks an enraged online backlash which pulls June and lyn into the tangle of lies their mother has told and resurfaces painful memories from their traumatic childhood. POV alternates between the two sisters as they work through past trauma and what their mother’s actions mean for them.
Real Ones tackles the issue of “pretendians” who falsely claim Indigenous status for themselves and appropriate Indigenous culture for some benefit – financial or otherwise. The mother’s actions and the public aftermath is always there in the background but the story is more about the relationship between the two sisters, how they process their own feelings about their mother and their past and how her actions impacted and continue to impact their lives. Memorable characters and a thought-provoking look at identity and the violence of taking an identity from those who are entitled to it – an excellent and timely read.
16. Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth
Setting: Princetown, NJ and a fictional small town in Colorado
Libby Weeks, author of an incredibly popular series of children’s fantasy books written under the pseudonym F.T. Goldhero, is struggling to complete her draft of the sixth and final book as she’s just been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. After forgetting her dog at the park and almost disclosing her identity to a Buzzfeed journalist, Libby realizes she needs help coming up with an idea to finish the book as soon as possible.
In desperation, Libby reaches out to 11 year-old super-fan Peanut Bixton and leaves her home in Princeton, New Jersey with her dog to travel to the small town of Blue Skies in Colorado where Peanut lives with her family. As Libby’s dementia progresses, rumours abound as the world demands that the true identity of Goldhero be revealed and Peanut and Libby desperately try to figure out how to save the children in the stories and write a happy ending.
This book has an interesting premise but it was not at all what I was expecting – in fact, I wondered for a bit if I was reading a YA fantasy book! The magical story of the Falling Children from Libby’s book series intersects with the story of Libby and Peanut quite a bit and the narration is unreliable and a bit confusing due to Libby’s dementia and Peanut’s difficulty separating real life from the stories.
It was a slow start for me but I did enjoy it for the most part although I thought the ending was a bit disappointing. Libby Lost and Found is a quirky and heartbreaking story about broken characters that you can’t help but care for and it has a nice message about found family and how we can take comfort from stories. It’s a book that will be loved by many but I don’t think it will appeal to everyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
17. A Good Indian Girl by Mansi Shah
Setting: Italy
A Good Indian Girl is the story of a recently divorced Indian-American woman who travels to Italy for the summer.
Jyoti was always the good Indian daughter who did what was expected of her – staying out of trouble, helping with her younger sisters, agreeing to an arranged marriage and quitting the job she loved at her husband’s family restaurant to focus on having a child but after years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, Jyoti’s husband left her for a younger woman and she feels like she has failed.
Unemployed, divorced and feeling judged by her parents, her sisters and the gossiping community of Aunties back home, Jyoti decides to travel to Florence and spend the summer with her best friend and fellow social outcast, Karishma. As she enjoys la dolce vita, sumptuous meals and delicious wine with Karishma and her group of friends, Jyoti gradually rediscovers her joy in cooking and creating new recipes which leads to new business opportunities but also opens her up to renewed criticism from her family and the Gujarati community back home.
An enjoyable and heartfelt read about Jyoti’s mid-life journey to discovering what she wants instead of doing what is expected of her as “a good Indian girl” that incorporates issues relating to infertility and the decision to remain childless as well as the pressures felt by the children of immigrant parents. Set in beautiful Florence with jaunts to a winery in the Tuscan countryside and a trip to the Amalfi coast and including mouthwatering descriptions of the restaurant meals and of Jyoti’s unique fusion of Indian and Italian food, A Good Indian Girl is catnip for travellers. There are even recipes included at the end of the book if you fancy trying to replicate Jyoti’s creative meals at home!
18. Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Setting: England
Our Evenings opens with English actor David Win learning of the death of Marc Hadlow, a long-time acquaintance and one-time benefactor. After attending the funeral, Dave reflects on his own life beginning when he first met the Hadlow family in 1961 through to the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
Born in England in 1948 to a white British dressmaker and a Burmese father he’s never met, Dave receives a scholarship to a top boarding school in 1961 when he is 13 years old. The scholarship is sponsored by the wealthy Hadlow family who have a son, Giles, in the same year at the school who later becomes a right wing politician and proponent of BREXIT – a demagogue who occasionally crosses paths with Dave as he remains in touch with Giles’ parents who are patrons of the arts.
As Dave relates the story, he meanders through significant events in his life – his school years as a working-class mixed race child in a white institution where he was exposed to the cruelty of classmates but also discovered his talent as an actor, his time at Oxford where he was able to pursue relationships with men for the first time, his move to London and his career as a talented but often overlooked actor, his relationships with lovers and also with his mother, Avril, and her partner, Esme, and his late-in-life marriage.
A beautifully-written novel by a previous Booker Prize winner, Our Evenings is a moving story that reads like the memoir of a man in late middle age sharing significant memories from his life. The narrative tone is quite gentle yet there are serious issues of class, race and sexuality woven through Dave’s story which spans six decades of English history.
Dave’s life follows the trajectory of the gay rights movement as he comes of age in the ’60s when the decriminalization of gay sex was still a matter of political debate, he works in the world of theatre where his sexuality isn’t an issue and over decades there is a general shift in the UK and elsewhere toward pride and equal rights and eventually marriage equality. Throughout his lifetime, Dave also experiences both what we would now call microaggressions and outright acts of racism because of his appearance as a mixed race man which also proves to be a not insignificant barrier to his success as an actor.
I found this to be an insightful, touching and, at times, heartbreaking reflection on how quickly a lifetime passes. Dave Win is a character who will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
19. The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan
Setting: Small seaside town in Nova Scotia
This murder mystery is set in an idyllic seaside town on the south shore of Nova Scotia best known for the myth that a legendary lost pirate’s treasure is buried in the area.
The story is told from the alternating perspective of three strangers whose paths cross in Maple Bay – Dandy, a local teenager grieving the beloved grandfather who left a clue to the treasure’s location; Peter, a man approaching 40 with not much to show for it, whose estranged grandmother invited him to stay at the Maple Bay mansion that has been home to his family for generations; and Cass, a down-on-her-luck author who accepted a house-sitting gig in Maple Bay and soon realizes that the town’s history would make a great book.
The three have nothing in common but find themselves caught up in a series of murders that seem to be related to the mystery of the missing treasure that has defined Maple Bay for two centuries.
The Treasure Hunters Club was such a fun, engaging read – a mystery with small town vibes and a Canadian setting! It starts off slow as the author introduces Maple Bay and the various characters but it didn’t take long for the twisty plot to keep me turning the pages. Nova Scotia is one of my favourite places so I was in love with this seaside setting (I pictured Lunenburg and Mahone Bay while I was reading!).
A fast and easy read with quirky characters, secret societies, pirates, lost treasure, family secrets and even a smidge of romance thrown in – perfect for cozy fall reading!
Thank you to Simon & Shuster Canada for sending an ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
20. Precipice by Robert Harris
Setting: London, England
In 1914 with Europe on the brink of war, the 62 year-old married Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, H.H. Asquith, becomes involved in a clandestine affair with a 26 year-old socialite named Venetia Stanley. As the relationship intensifies, Asquith arranges weekly trysts with Venetia in his state car but also writes to her as many as three times a day discussing his affection for her as well as whatever crosses his mind including serious matters of state. The correspondence which is sent through the postal service often relays top-secret government information and military secrets in contravention of the Official Secrets Act and includes carbon copies of secret intelligence (known as flimsies), original letters and other documents which should have been preserved as official records.
The affair becomes a matter of national security when discarded flimsies containing sensitive information are found in several London locations after Asquith carelessly tosses them from a car window when out for a ride with Venetia. A young Scotland Yard detective is assigned to conduct surveillance to confirm that responsibility lies with Asquith and to assess whether there is any possibility that Asquith’s actions may have put government secrets in the hands of German spies.
Harris skillfully weaves together fact and fiction using excerpts from the actual letters written to Venetia by Asquith in this compelling historical fiction novel. I wouldn’t describe this as a thriller but it is a fascinating look at a Prime Minister who was so obsessed with a woman less than half his age that it quite likely affected his ability to function competently as PM at a time when the nation was in great peril at the onset of World War I.
Harris was provided access to the correspondence which Venetia kept (more than 500 letters) and relied on it to craft his narrative which makes it clear that the amount of political influence Venetia had on a Prime Minister who discussed everything with her and valued her opinions has been seriously underestimated. An interesting read – particularly for anyone interested in history and politics!
21. A Grave in the Woods by Martin Walker
Setting: Fictional village in Périgord/Dordogne region of Southwestern France
A Grave in the Woods is the 17th installment in the internationally acclaimed Bruno Chief of Police series set in the idyllic village of St. Denis in the Périgord/Dordogne region of southwestern France.
Bruno, a former soldier turned police officer, has arrived back in the village but has yet to resume his duties as he recovers from a gunshot wound to his shoulder sustained earlier in the year. Upon his return, Bruno meets several newcomers to the village – the administrator who has taken over his office at City Hall, a recently-divorced American archaeologist who hopes to set up as a specialist tour guide in the region and a British couple who are purchasing a local property to set up a business.
Shortly thereafter, a World War II grave site discovered in a wooded area is found to contain three bodies and a tin holding identification papers for an Italian submariner and two young German women presumably connected to a Nazi garrison in Bordeaux. Bruno takes the lead on the investigation of the grave while also socializing with his many friends and helping the community prepare for potential flooding.
This is part of a long series but can be read as a stand alone. I read and enjoyed the first in the series years ago but none of the others – no reason other than too many books and not enough time! It’s a delightful read but I imagine it’s even better for those invested in the series as it advances the overall story arc and introduces new characters to the village.
Bruno is charming (as is his dog, Balzac) and much of the enjoyment of the story relates to his interactions with his friends in the village and descriptions of their socializing over food and wine. The plot also touches on the serious impact that climate change is having in this region causing extreme heat during the summer months and heavy rains and flooding during the winter resulting in devastating damage to local crops. I picked this up expecting a murder mystery and that’s not really what it is but it is an entertaining read nonetheless.
Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf and Penguin Random House for sending an ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
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