The reader reviewers were succinct at the October book tasting at the Canal Winchester Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library System. We start at 10:30 AM and usually go until noon. But the Ohio State/Indiana football game started at noon, and a couple women said they were leaving early to get home for the game. Everyone had a chance to share their book recommendations though.

Here are the four suggested titles for the November book tasting. I’ve read the first one, and I think that’s it for me. None of the others excite me. What about you? Have you already read any of these books?

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten. Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and… no qualms about a little murder. This funny, irreverent story collection by Helene Tursten, author of the Irene Huss investigations, features two-never-before translated stories that will keep you laughing all the way to the retirement home.

An Amish Thanksgiving by Beth Wiseman. Catherine Lapp’s parents fled her Amish community and left her to tend to her ailing grandmother who suffers from dementia. Often embarrassed by her grandmother’s off-the-wall behavior, Catherine mostly stays to herself. When an unseasonal winter storm sends visitors to Catherine’s farmhouse for shelter, she has no choice but to take them in as borders. She is rattled by the unexpected company who witness her grandmother’s odd behavior right away. But instead of judgment, her new friends not only help her with her grandmother but provide an opportunity to learn what real unconditional love can be. As two romances blossom, Catherine finds hope in her circumstances.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER… Sally Hepworth’s novel Darling Girls has it all.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

Jenny Cooper Has a Secret by Joy Fielding. In this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of All the Wrong Places, a dementia patient reveals a deadly secret—and one woman must decide whether to believe her.

And, because I know some of you would come to these book tastings if you could, when Chrissy, one of the leaders of the group, shares the list, I’m happy to share it with you. These are the books the readers talked about in September, just in the order we talked about them.

Bury the Sea – Mona Tewari – Historical Fantasy – A queen must fight her people’s historic enemy to pretect her homeland once and for all.

The Disappearers – Marlon James – LGBTQ+ – Historical Fiction – Eight men in Jamaica face a brutal homophobic mob attack in the 1980’s during rehearsals for an underground play.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Robert Dugoni – Literary Fiction – About a boy born in the 1950;s with ocular albinism that gives his eyes a distinct red color.

Hollow Bones – Jodi Picoult – Contemporary Fiction – Centers on the emotional aftermath of 9/11 and a shocking family secret.

Judge Stone – Viola Davis & James Patterson – Thriller – Small-town Alabama judge presiding over a high-stakes, politically explosive abortion trial.

Ordinary Grace – William Kent Krueger – Historical Fiction – Follows 13-year-old Frank Drum during a tragic summer in Minnesota in 1961. (My note – If you haven’t read this, I encourage you to pick this one up.)

The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies – Kate Westbury – Historical Mystery – A librarian’s death sparks an espionage investigation at Oxford University in post WWII 1951.

The Pirate Queen – Ariel Lawhon – Historical Fiction – Inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish folk heroine who risked everything to defend her people.

Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier – Psychological Thriller – A shy young woman marries a wealthy widower and moves to his grand coastal estate, only to find her new life and marriage tormented by the memory of his seemingly perfect first wife, Rebecca.

Thursday Murder Club series – Richard Osman – Mystery – Four clever seniors living in a peaceful retirement village use their weekly club meetings to investigate a real murder that happens right where they live.

The Virgin River – Robyn Carr – Contemporary Romance – A grieving nurse named Melinda Monroe moves to a remote mountain town for a fresh start, but an abandoned baby and a charming ex-marine convince her to stay and find love again.

The Whistler – Ann Patchet – Literary Fiction – A middle-aged woman named Daphne Fuller unexpectedly reconnects with her former stepfather Eddie over 40 years after a traumatic childhood car accident separated them.

The Wicked Bargain – Gabe Cole Novoa – Young Adult Fantasy – A nonbinary teen pirate must outwit the devil to save their father.

Woman Down – Colleen Hoover – Psychological Thriller – About a woman having an affair with a married police officer.

The Women of Wild Hill – Kirsten Miller – Contemporary Fantasy – Family of witches on Long Island unite to target corrupt patriarchal figures and environmental destroyers.

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