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Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

May 2026

When I tell you that I think MAD MABEL is Sally Hepworth’s best book, I am saying that after having devoured everything she has written.  

Here we have an older protagonist, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, who is 81 years old and definitively grumpy. Elsie is the neighbor whom people watch and tell their children to be quiet around. She’s living in a Melbourne suburb where she minds her own business until a neighbor is found dead. 

There’s a reason that Elsie keeps more to herself than most. She has something of a history to her. Years ago she was known as Mad Mabel Waller, and she had the honor --- or onerous distinction --- of being Australia’s youngest convicted killer. 

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Last One Out by Jane Harper

May 2026

Jane Harper’s LAST ONE OUT is set in Carralon Ridge in rural New South Wales. More than a decade ago, a mining company discovers what they want on the border of the town. Slowly they have encroached on the property around it, and much of the town has been bought up by them as they expand. It’s not just the riches below the ground that the company is looking for, but rather the ability to build roads and easily facilitate their business. 

The hum of the mining mission is behind the entire story like a character. The noise is relentless and the dust ever present, as are memories of the places that are both fresh and buried.

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A Far-flung Life by M. L. Stedman

May 2026

In 2012, I read THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS and loved the power of M. L. Stedman’s writing. I did not think it would be 14 years until I could read something from her again. I listened to A FAR-FLUNG LIFE and enjoyed the narration by Lewis Fitz-Gerald. I constantly found myself swept up in the storytelling.

The book is set on the MacBride family’s sheep station, the million-acre Meredith Downs in Western Australia, which has been in the family for generations. It’s the kind of place where the weather is charted as much as the number of sheep. The story begins in the 1950s and follows the family as they cope with an accident on a remote road in 1958. Phil and his oldest son, Warren, are killed. His youngest son, Matt, is hospitalized with severe injuries, memory loss, and the new burden of being the only man in the family.

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Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

April 2026

We have been hearing a lot of buzz about YESTERYEAR by Caro Claire Burke, and I see why. I loved it from page one.

Let me start my thoughts about this book by saying that I am amused by online influencers who create content for Instagram (and TikTok, though I am not on there), hawking how they cook, bake, decorate, make cocktails, clean, fold, and whatever else comes into their imaginations. As a child, I remember pretending I had a cooking show as I made mix cakes, but we never filmed this and it was not shared. Now, it seems like there are tens of millions of content makers, and I am sure there is a kid out there with a cooking video series.

On top of that, there are people who make fun of Instagrammers, and they have their own followings. There are times when I feel like life online is some parallel universe, but then I see it’s very real. Almost too real.

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It Girl by Allison Pataki

April 2026

Allison Pataki has a way of making the past seem like it was a whole lot of fun in her latest novel, IT GIRL. Who’s the girl? She’s Evelyn Talbot, who’s based on Evelyn Nesbit, the real-life Gibson Girl who landed in New York City from Pittsburgh during the days leading up to and through the Gilded Age. The scene it sets --- with Mrs. Astor holding court in the city, traveling abroad on ocean lines --- is all the rage, and the New York theater is a place where you see shows not just once but rather multiple times.

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It's Not Her by Mary Kubica

March 2026

Over the years, I have enjoyed Mary Kubica’s novels. But she has taken the craft of her thriller writing to a new level with the release of IT’S NOT HER.

In it, two families who are related --- Courtney Gray’s best friend, Emily, is married to her brother, Nathan --- are at a rustic resort in northern Wisconsin. We start with the oh-so-familiar vacation narrative about “who got the better cabin.” You know that if there are two places, this is bound to be part of the conversation. On the first night, Courtney’s daughter, Cass, begs to have a sleepover with her cousin, Mae, which Courtney allows. Courtney hears a scream in the night --- a blood-curdling one.

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Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson

February 2026

Sadeqa Johnson has an interesting origin story for KEEPER OF LOST CHILDREN. While doing research for her last book, THE HOUSE OF EVE, she came across an article about Mabel T. Grammer, an African American journalist whose “Brown Baby Plan” led to the adoption of 500 mixed-race German orphans after World War II.

Sadeqa tucked that idea away, but she pulled it back up after she submitted THE HOUSE OF EVE. From reading about this one woman’s vision for rescuing these children, she created her character Ethel Gathers, the wife of an American Officer assigned to Occupied Germany in the 1950s.

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Blade by Wendy Walker

February 2026

I was able to immerse myself in the world of competitive ice skating thanks to Wendy Walker’s latest thriller, BLADE. Inspired by Wendy’s personal experiences as a competitive figure skater (she trained in Colorado from ages 13 to 16), the book captures what it is like to be a teen living on her own as she aims to shine in a sport that so many attempt and fail at.

Wendy draws on the joy, stress and loneliness of these young ladies, who are labeled “orphans” as they do not have parents with them. She also portrays the moms who have traveled with them and are obsessed with their skating.

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My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney

February 2026

Alice Feeney is one of those authors who is known to spin me around. There are few times that I guess where she is headed. With MY HUSBAND’S WIFE, she had me questioning everything, starting with the title. I, like many others, think that this is her most brilliant book yet.

We begin with Eden Fox, who arrives at her home, Spyglass, to learn that her key will not open the door. Properly annoyed, she knocks loudly. Another woman answers, and she is clear that she is Eden Fox and the other woman must be mad. This claim is confirmed by her husband, Harrison, who says that he has no idea who this person is.

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Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden

January 2026

I had the pleasure of meeting Belle Burden at a publisher event in November. After she told us her story, which is detailed in STRANGERS, I immediately requested a prerelease audio download. I love listening to memoirs on audio. After finishing it, I would share the book’s opening with friends, and they all said that it sounded like a really good novel. Then I would tell them that it’s a memoir.

So what did they react to?

In the first week of the pandemic, while Belle and her family were staying at their home on Martha’s Vineyard, life was going as well as it could be during those uncertain times. There were lovely fires in the fireplace, with wood that was carefully selected by Belle’s husband, and cocktails in the afternoon. Yes, there still was fear of COVID, but they felt safe where they were.

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