The Last Time We Spoke

The Last Time We Spoke

By Jesse Mechanic

Street Noise Books, 2025. 146 pages. Graphic Novels

When he was a teenager, Jesse Mechanic's mother passed away after a long struggle with cancer. In this memoir, he looks back on that time, and on the ways that experience followed him throughout his life. Struggling with school while dealing with attentional problems and the overwhelming tsunami of grief, this book tells the story of Mechanics slow work to figure out a life for himself. It's about obsessive-compulsive disorder, intrusive thoughts, and depression. It's about what loss can teach us, and how trauma can be both debilitating and beautiful. It's about standing in dark rooms for long enough for your eyes to adjust. 

This is an emotionally vulnerable look into a life colored by loss. With beautiful illustrations and tender ruminations, this is recommended to all those who have experienced the death of a loved one, young or old.  

If you liked The Last Time We Spoke, you might also like:

Something, Not Nothing

By Sarah Leavitt

Arsenal Pulp Press, 2024. 141 pages. Graphic Novels

In April 2020, cartoonist Sarah Leavitt's partner of twenty-two years, Donimo, died with medical assistance after years of severe chronic pain and a rapid decline at the end of her life. About a month after Donimo's death, Sarah began making comics again as a way to deal with her profound sense of grief and loss.

Dancing at the Pity Party

By Tyler Feder

Dial Books, 2020. 201 pages. YA Comics 

Tyler Feder shares her story of her mother's first oncology appointment to facing reality as a motherless daughter in this frank and refreshingly funny graphic memoir.

RBL

K-Jane

K-Jane
by Lydia Kang
Quill Tree Books, 2025. 326 pages. Romance.

Jane Choi is a typical Nebraskan teen--a corn-fed lover of Husker football. But lately, she feels like she's missing something. Her non-Korean classmates--that's everyone--are immersed in K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty . . . basically, K-everything. Everyone seems to know more about Korean culture than Jane. And she isn't sure whether she's more annoyed at them, or herself. With a baby brother on the way, Jane is determined to save her new sibling from enduring the same humiliation. What better way than to start a private social media account about all things Korean so her closest cousins can learn from her? But Korean heritage and identity are more complicated than taste-testing multiple varieties of kimchi in front of a camera. And when online virality crashes into real life, Jane's plans might just go K-boom in her face.

I was introduced to K-dramas a few years ago (Let’s Eat and Playful Kiss are my favorites), and my family has been rocking out to the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack all summer. That is as much experience as I can claim with Korean culture. Nevertheless, there’s a lot for me to relate to in the trials and tribulations of Jane Choi. As the mixed-race grandchild of an immigrant, I know what it feels like to be asked “So where are you from?” in that particular tone (the one which is followed by surprise when the answer isn’t the name of another country). And it can be difficult to feel a connection to your ancestors when there are major language and cultural differences.

Jane’s struggles with her heritage are not all that she has to deal with. She also has a romantic interest, the artsy, cool and mysterious Edward. (Any resemblance to the leads of a certain Charlotte Brontë novel is not a coincidence.) This novel owes a lot to Brontë, K-dramas, and even Hallmark movies. There are missed opportunities and misunderstandings galore, as Jane has trouble hearing anything over her own self-disparaging inner monologue and her all-consuming quest to become the perfect Korean girl. To make things even more difficult, the brooding Edward is keeping some secrets of his own. You may get pretty frustrated with both of them (I certainly did!). But author Lydia Kang draws everything together into a K-drama-worthy ending that will leave you not just entertained but uplifted. (And I'd love to read an entire book about Jane's grandmother, who steals the show every time she appears!)

 

If you like K-Jane, you may also like:

Lou With the Band
by Alexandra Leigh Young
Walker Books, 2025. 294 pages. Fiction.

Restless Lou is a Cuban-American girl who's never left Texas, let alone the country. But the "New Lou" (sporting a freshly shaved head, courtesy of her best friend Molly) has deferred her first semester at Texas State to work for a celebrity musician on a world tour. It will be the summer of a lifetime, full of underground parties, disco spas, and gelato. When Lou falls for a tattooed guitar prodigy who makes her feel achingly alive, it doesn't cross her mind to doubt him or--as life on the road tightens its hold--her course. Will Molly know her when she returns, if she returns? Who is the "New Lou" really?

 

Everything We Never Had
by Randy Ribay
Kokila, 2024. 264 pages. Fiction.

Told in multiple perspectives spanning nearly a century, Everything We Never Had unfolds like a beautifully crafted nesting doll, where each boy in the Filipino-American Maghabol family forges his own path amid heavy family and societal expectations, passing down his flaws, values, and virtues to the next generation, until it's up to Enzo to see how he can braid all these strands and men together.

-LAH

Lauryn Harper Falls Apart

Lauryn Harper Falls Apart 

by Shauna Robinson 

Sourcebooks, 2025. 384 pages. General Fiction.

Lauryn Harper had a plan. A high achieving, perfectly constructed, five-year plan. But after a (totally blown out of proportion) mishap at work that plan is put to the test. As punishment for her mistake she is transferred to the Ryser Charity Department, a branch of her corporation that just so happens to be located in the hometown she abandoned long ago - the same hometown that her powerful corporation is responsible for running into the ground. Horrified at the thought of returning and facing those she left behind (one in particular keeps coming to mind), Lauryn quickly comes up with a new impress her boss enough that she's briskly whisked back to her big city life. However, it soon becomes clear that sticking to plans isn't that simple, especially when her ex-best friend enters the charity department demanding they help revitalize the town by throwing the famous Greenstead Fall Festival. Confronted by her past wrongs, Lauryn immediately agrees to host the festival on Ryser's dime, but soon enough Lauryn is swept away in town hijinks, chaotic planning committees, and a second chance at a childhood friend that shows her why home isn't necessarily a place she has to run from. 

This book was a cozy autumnal read with likeable characters. The plot to bring back the fall apple festival runs parallel to the plot of Lauryn and her ex-best friend reconnecting and putting behind the past that drew them apart. It has all the elements of a contemporary romcom, but without any romance, which I found to be delightfully refreshing. This book is recommended for anyone looking for a cozy contemporary read, especially one that doesn’t include any romance. 

If you like Lauryn Harper Falls Apart, you might also like: 

The Second Chance Year 

by Melissa Wiesner 

Forever, Hachette Book Group, 2023. 327 pages. Romance. 

Sadie Thatcher's life has fallen apart in spectacular fashion. In one fell swoop, she managed to lose her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend-all thanks to her big mouth. So when a fortune teller offers her one wish, Sadie jumps at the chance to redo her awful year. Deep down, she doesn't believe magic will fix her life, but taking a leap of faith, Sadie makes her wish, opens her eyes, and . . . nothing has changed. And then, in perhaps her dumbest move yet, she kisses her brother's best friend, Jacob. When Sadie wakes up the next morning, she's in her former apartment with her former boyfriend, and her former boss is expecting her at work. Checking the date, she realizes it's January 1 . . . of last year. As Sadie navigates her second-chance year, she begins to see the red flags she missed in her relationship and in her career. Plus, she keeps running into Jacob, and she can't stop thinking about their kiss . . . the one he has no idea ever happened. Suddenly, Sadie begins to wonder if her only mistake was wishing for a second chance. 

Adult Assembly Required 

by Abbi Waxman Berkley, 2022. 374 pages. General Fiction. 

A young woman moves to Los Angeles to escape her life and discovers she doesn't have to leave all of herself behind to make a fresh start, from USA Today bestselling author Abbi Waxman. When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, hoping to finally get away from her overprotective family, she doesn't expect to be homeless after a week. (She's almost certain she didn't start that fire . . . right?) When she's rescued by a charming but eccentric bookseller and installed in a slightly chaotic and entirely illegal boardinghouse, she isn't sure if she's fallen on her feet or just out of the frying pan. A handsome housemate, a landlady with regrets, and the unwelcome attention of an old flame conspire to make Laura's life far more complicated than she hoped. However, a set of new friends who widen her experience--and knowledge of trivia--will do their very best to help this transplant put down roots and learn what it really means to be an adult. 

Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club 

by Roselle Lim Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, 2022. 457 pages. General Fiction Large Print. 

Newly minted professional matchmaker Sophie Go has returned to Toronto, her hometown, after spending three years in Shanghai. Her job is made quite difficult, however, when she is revealed as a fraud--she never actually graduated from matchmaking school. In a competitive market like Toronto, no one wants to take a chance on an inexperienced and unaccredited matchmaker, and soon Sophie becomes an outcast. In dire search of clients, Sophie stumbles upon a secret club within her condo complex: the Old Ducks, seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors who never found love. Somehow, she convinces them to hire her, but her matchmaking skills are put to the test as she learns the depths of loneliness, heartbreak, and love by attempting to make the hardest matches of her life.

EP

One Good Thing

One Good Thing
by Georgia Hunter
Pamela Dorman Books, 2025. 417 pages. Historical Fiction

Italy, 1941. Lili and Esti have been best friends since meeting at the University of Ferrara. When Esti's son Theo is born, they become as close as sisters. Mussolini's Racial Laws have deemed Lili and Esti descendants of an 'inferior' Jewish race, but life somehow goes on—until Germany invades northern Italy, and the friends find themselves in occupied territory. Esti, older and fiercely self-assured, convinces Lili to flee first to a villa in the countryside to help hide a group of young war orphans, then to a convent in Florence, where they pose as nuns and forge false identification papers for the Underground. When disaster strikes at the convent, a critically wounded Esti asks Lili to take a much bigger step: to go on the run with Theo. Protect him while Esti can't. Terrified to travel on her own, Lili sets out on an epic journey south toward Allied territory, through Nazi-occupied villages and bombed-out cities, doing everything she can to keep Theo safe.

Georgia Hunter's One Good Thing is World War II historical fiction that's going to stay with me for a while. I appreciated learning about the plight of the Italian Jewish community, and learning about the underground movement in Italy. An especially interesting piece was the inclusion of a real-life renowned Italian cyclist, who stored forged paperwork in the frame of his bicycle and worked as a runner in the underground network. Where this novel really shines, though, is in its portrayal of the bond of Lili and Esti. Esti is brave and determined, while Lili is much more afraid of consequences. It's Lili's love of both Esti and Theo that encourages Lili to overcome her fear and face terrifying situations with courage. While this book is obviously sad and tragic, I appreciated the hopeful message of the power of love that drives the novel.

If you like One Good Thing you might also like:

Our Darkest Night
by Jennifer Robson
William Morrow, 2021. 362 pages. Historical Fiction

Hiding from the Nazis in the guise of a Christian farmer's wife, a Jewish woman is met with suspicion by a Nazi official who harbors a vendetta against the former seminary student posing as her husband.

Once We Were Home
by Jennifer Rosner
Flatiron Books, 2023. 278 pages. Historical Fiction

Four Jewish individuals—Ana, Oskar, Roger, and Renata—are all trying to move on from trauma and loss of loved ones during World War II. Twenty years later, the four connect in Israel. As their stories converge in unexpected ways, they begin to question where and to whom they truly belong.

MB

Play Nice

Play Nice

by Rachel Harrison 

Berkley, 2025. 325 pages. Fiction

Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so-glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Or so her mother, Alex, claimed. After Alex's sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house-flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother's claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother's book, the presence in the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio's beautiful life to its very foundation.

Rachel Harrison has a way of modernizing classic horror themes and tropes in a way that makes her books so fun to read. While less campy than some of her other novels, Play Nice is full of dark comedy, and the dialed back tone allows Harrison's characters to shine. The relationships between Clio and her family members mirror real life complexities and highlight the way children raised under the same roof can have vastly different experiences. The passages from Alex’s memoir add depth and understanding (as well as some great spooky lore!). I’d recommend Play Nice to anyone who wants to enjoy a good character study with some creepiness and nods to horror greats along the way.

If you like Play Nice, you might also like:

Just Like Home 

by Sarah Gailey

Tor, 2022. 344 pages. Fiction 

"Come home." Vera's mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories - she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he'd built for his family. Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren't alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera's childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn't the one leaving notes around the house in her father's handwriting ... but who else could it possibly be? There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

We Used to Live Here

by Marcus Kliewer

Emily Bestler Books/Atria, 2024. 312 pages. Fiction 

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. As soon as the strangers enter their home, uncanny and inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. When Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality.

Model Home

by Rivers Solomon

MCD Books, 2024. 286 pages. Fiction

The three Maxwell siblings, members of the only Black family in a gated community, experienced strange and terrifying events in their house growing up. After their parents’ mysterious deaths, the adult siblings return home to confront the past and uncover whether the deaths were natural or supernatural. 

RP

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books
By Kirsten Miller
HarperCollins, 2024. 298 pages. Fiction

Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy, Lula Dean, live in the tiny town of Troy, Georgia, where they were born and raised. Now Beverly is on the school board, and Lula has become a local celebrity by embarking on a mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books--none of which she's actually read. To replace the books she's challenged at the local public library, Lula starts her own lending library in front of her home: a cute wooden hutch with glass doors and neat rows of the "worthy" literature that she's sure the town's readers need. 

What Lula doesn't know is that a local troublemaker has stolen her wholesome books, removed their dust jackets, and restocked Lula's library with banned books. Finally, one of Lula Dean's enemies discovers the library and decides to turn the tables on her, just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other to replace the town's disgraced mayor. That's when all the townspeople who've been borrowing from Lula's library begin to reveal themselves and start to challenge the book banners' misplaced fears.

This book was positively delightful! I listened to the incredible audio version (linked here), where the talents of the voice actors make the tiny town of Troy, Georgia come alive. This novel takes a very divisive topic and presents it in a way that allows room for conversation and nuance. The reader understands why Lula Dean does what she does, even if they don't agree with her actions. One of the most beautiful things about reading is the ability to grow empathy for those who are not like ourselves, and this book demands that its readers do just that.

If you like Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, you might also like:

The Book Club for Troublesome Women
By Marie Bostwick
Harper Muse, 2025. 372 pages. Fiction

This charming novel explores the lives of housewives in 1963 suburban Virginia. Margaret, Viv, and Bitsy are living the American dream. However, "having it all" leaves them feeling guilty and wondering if there should be more to their lives than just domesticity. Enter Charlotte, their arty, fashionable, and eccentric new neighbor from New York City. These four women start a book club, with The Feminine Mystique as their first title, a controversial and groundbreaking book that inspires each of them to examine their own lives, illustrating why they each feel pressured, unhappy, and unfulfilled. Through their discussions of other books, they form an unbreakable bond and encourage one another not only to acknowledge their fears and dreams but also to seek change to make their longings a reality.

Bookish People
By Susan Coll
HarperCollins, 2022. 327 pages. Fiction

This intensely wonderful novel is set in the immediate aftermath of the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, in which a counter-protester was killed. Readers meet the multigenerational staff at an independent Washington, DC, bookstore as they navigate personal and professional dilemmas. The bookstore's owner, Sophie Bernstein, has just been widowed; the loss, in combination with the country's political turmoil, is causing her to have a break with reality. Overworked and underappreciated events manager Clemi is an aspiring writer who's struggling to find her footing in life. Throw in a busy and understaffed store, several controversial author events, pets running amok, and an impending solar eclipse, and you have a story where dark and comedic plot lines converge.

The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks
By Shauna Robinson
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2022. 329 pages. Romance

Hapless but good-hearted Maggie arrives in Bell River to take over the local bookstore for her friend on maternity leave. It all sounds wonderfully exciting until she discovers the rules of the "Bell Society:" no contemporary novels, no books not available during hometown literary icon Edward Bell's lifetime, and no questioning the character of said author. As an outsider, Maggie lacks the unquestioning devotion to the town's beloved author, angering the Bell Society management. Versatile author Shauna Robinson relates Maggie's words evenly and calmly, bringing out her thought processes and motivations as she searches for a way to save the foundering bookshop. Maggie begins to secretly hold fun genre-themed events and starts an online presence that skyrockets the bookstore's profitability, but at what cost? Despite toxic Bell Society issues, Maggie finds herself making friends and falling in love with her adopted small town. An uplifting small-town romance with broader appeal.

LKA

Tilt

Tilt 

By Emma Pattee 

Marysue Rucci Books, 2025. 227 pages. Fiction.

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there's nothing to do but walk. Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she's determined to change her life. 

Very quickly in chapter one, this massive, life changing earthquake takes place on the West Coast of the United States. This book was a quick read because it was hard for me to put down but fair warning it is emotionally intense! We experience the story through Annie’s point of view but we jump back in forth through time. The book is more about Annie and her experiences before, during and after the earthquake. The descriptions of the natural disaster feel realistic and you can tell the author has done her research. Annie is a sympathetic character and despite her flaws and shortcomings you can’t help but love her and cheer her on as she searches for her husband among the wreckage of Portland. 

 

If you liked Tilt you might also like: 

We Were the Universe 

By Kimberly King Parsons 

Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 269 pages. Fiction.

The trip was supposed to be fun. When Kit's best friend gets dumped by his boyfriend, he begs her to ditch her family responsibilities for an idyllic weekend in the Montana mountains. They'll soak in hot springs, then sneak a vape into a dive bar and drink too much, like old times. Instead, their getaway only reminds Kit of everything she's lost lately: her wildness, her independence, and--most heartbreaking of all--her sister, Julie, who died a few years ago. When she returns home to the Dallas suburbs, Kit tries to settle in to her routine--long afternoons spent caring for her irrepressible daughter, going on therapist-advised dates with her concerned husband, and reluctantly taking her mother's phone calls. But in the secret recesses of Kit's mind, she's reminiscing about the band she used to be in--and how they'd go out to the desert after shows and drop acid. She's imagining an impossible threesome with her kid's pretty gymnastics teacher and the cool playground mom. Keyed into everything that might distract from her surfacing pain, Kit spirals. As her already thin boundaries between reality and fantasy blur, she begins to wonder: Is Julie really gone? 

Amazing Grace Adams 

by Fran Littlewood 

Henry Hold and Company, 2023. 256 pages. Fiction.

Grace Adams gave birth, blinked, and now suddenly she is forty-five, perimenopausal and stalled--the unhappiest age you can be, according to the Guardian. And today she's really losing it. Stuck in traffic, she finally has had enough. To the astonishment of everyone, Grace gets out of her car and simply walks away. Grace sets off across London, armed with a £200 cake, to win back her estranged teenage daughter on her sixteenth birthday. Because today is the day she'll remind her daughter that no matter how far we fall, we can always get back up again. Because Grace Adams used to be amazing. Her husband thought so. Her daughter thought so. Even Grace thought so. But everyone seems to have forgotten. Grace is about to remind them … and, most important, remind herself.

JK

The Man in Black

The Man in Black

By Elly Griffiths

Mariner Books, 2024. 310 pages. Mystery

From the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries, an eclectic, thrilling collection of short stories, featuring many characters that readers have come to know and love. Elly Griffiths has always written short stories to experiment with different voices and genres as well as to explore what some of her fictional creations such as Ruth Galloway, Harbinder Kaur, and Max Mephisto might have done outside of the novels. The Man in Black gathers these bite-sized tales all together in one splendid volume. There are ghost stories, cozy mysteries, tales of psychological suspense, and poignant vignettes of love and loss.

I don't always like short stories, so I approached this collection with caution, even though I love author Elly Griffiths and her Ruth Galloway mystery series. A few stories in, I knew I had nothing to fear. I found this collection really charming, thought-provoking and spooky. There's a beautiful tribute to "Little Women", and I think my favorite story was told from the point of view of a cat! She does revisit characters from her series (yay!), but I don't think you need to be familiar with those to enjoy this book. For example, some of the stories featured characters from her Magic Men mysteries, which I haven't read yet. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves short stories, mysteries, and charming, odd British tales. 

If you liked The Man in Black, you might also like: 

The Mistletoe Murder: and other stories

By P.D. James

Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. 152 pages. Mystery

Four previously uncollected stories from one of the great mystery writers of our time--swift, cunning murder mysteries (two of which feature the young Adam Dalgliesh) that together, to borrow the author's own word, add up to a delightful "entertainment." The newly appointed Sgt. Dalgliesh is drawn into a case that is "pure Agatha Christie." . . . A "pedantic, respectable, censorious" clerk's secret taste for pornography is only the first reason he finds for not coming forward as a witness to a murder . . . A best-selling crime novelist describes the crime she herself was involved in fifty years earlier . . . Dalgliesh's godfather implores him to reinvestigate a notorious murder that might ease the godfather's mind about an inheritance, but which will reveal a truth that even the supremely upstanding Adam Dalgliesh will keep to himself. Each of these stories is as playful as it is ingeniously plotted, the author's sly humor as evident as her hallmark narrative elegance and shrewd understanding of some of the most complex--not to say the most damning--aspects of human nature.

Lord Peter: the complete Lord Peter Wimsey stories

By Dorothy L. Sayers

Perennial, 2001. 474 pages. Mystery

One of the founding mothers of mystery, Dorothy Sayers first introduced the popular character Lord Peter Wimsey in 1923 with the publication of Whose Body? Over the next twenty years, more novels and short stories about the aristocratic amateur sleuth appeared, each one as cunningly written as the next. Now in single volume, here are all the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, a treasure for any mystery lover. From "The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag" to "The Image in the Mirror" and "Talboys," this collection is Lord Peter at his best -- and a true testament to the art of detective fiction.

MGB

The Butcher

The Butcher

By Jenifer Hillier

Gallery Books, 2024. 334 pages. Fiction.

Thirty years ago, police chief Edward Shank killed the most notorious serial killer in Seattle's history: the Beacon Hill Butcher. Now 80 years old and retired, he's given his home to his grandson, Matt, and settled into a quiet life at Sweetbay Village Retirement Residence. While renovating, Matt discovers a crate buried in the backyard that holds a secret so terrible that it threatens to ruin all their lives if it ever gets out. Especially that of Sam, his girlfriend, whose mother was killed when she was only two years old. Matt struggles with his dark family secret as Sam's obsession with solving her mother's murder grows. A true crime writer now working on a book about the Beacon Hill Butcher, Sam has always suspected her mother was one of his victims, even though she was murdered two years after the Butcher was killed. But then new victims begin to turn up, and the more she digs into the old murders, the more dangerous it gets. Turns out, the truth is closer to home than she ever could have imagined. 

In typical Jennifer Hillier fashion, the twists don't just come at the end of the story but are sprinkled throughout keeping you on the edge of your seat. There's also something about the gloomy, rainy backdrop of Seattle that always makes Hillier's books fantastic Fall reads. It almost feels like a character of its own in her stories. Sam was a great protagonist, logical and pragmatic in demeanor, and her search for the truth pushes the narrative along nicely. What was also interesting, but rather difficult, is that you get firsthand accounts of the Beacon Hill Butcher. There are several trigger warnings for those chapters (rape, torture, murder) and while it did add depth and understanding of the depravity of the crimes, it is not for everyone. Overall, if you're looking for a chilling read this Fall that focuses on unsolved crimes and serial killers, The Butcher is the book for you!

If you liked The Butcher, you might also like:

The Quiet Tenant

By Clémence Michallon

Alfred A. Knopf, 2023. 303 pages. Fiction.

A psychological thriller about trauma, power, and survival, which follows a young woman who has been captured and confined by a serial killer--who is a father, widower, former Marine, and lineman for the local electric company--as he hides the true nature of his double life from his daughter, neighbors, and the local bartender who could be his next victim, unless his captive manages to stop him. 

His & Hers

By Alice Feeney

Flatiron Books, 2020. 308 pages. Fiction.

Anna Andrews finally has what she wants. Almost. She's worked hard to become the main TV presenter of the BBC's lunchtime news, putting work before friends, family, and her now ex-husband. So, when someone threatens to take her dream job away, she'll do almost anything to keep it. When asked to cover a murder in Blackdown, Anna is reluctant to go. But when the victim turns out to be one of her childhood friends, she can't leave. It soon becomes clear that Anna isn't just covering the story; she's at the heart of it. CI Jack Harper left London for a reason, but never thought he'd end up working in a place like Blackdown. When the body of a young woman is discovered, Jack decides not to tell anyone that he knew the victim, until he begins to realize he is a suspect in his own murder investigation. One of them knows more than they are letting on. Someone isn't telling the truth.

BW

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
by Sangu Mandanna
Berkley, 2025. 340 pages. Fiction

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps her great-aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests' shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power ... Enter Luke Larsen, a handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell's secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing. Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn't have to do it alone ... and that the weird, wonderful family she's made might be the best magic of all. 

Readers who enjoy stories of found family will be sure to enjoy the colorful cast of misfit characters in A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. I especially enjoyed the cozy setting of a rundown English country inn that had a magical personality of its own. While this is a sweet and cozy read with a slow-burn romance between two likable, but grumpy main characters (no grumpy-sunshine here!), there is still a fair amount of swearing and a bit of spice. Readers who prefer closed-door romance can skip the one sex scene without missing any plot development. Overall, this is an equally sweet and enjoyable follow up to Sangu Mandanna’s bestselling 2022 debut, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. 

If you like A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping, you might also like: 

The Cottage Around the Corner
by D. L Soria
Del Rey, 2024. 403 pages. Romance 

Chanterelle Cottage is Charlie Sparrow's whole world. The cozy spellshop where she and her moms practice their witchcraft, selling goods and services to the people of small-town Owl's Hollow, has been in her family for generations. Charlie is talented and savvy, and she hopes to keep things afloat once her parents finally let her buy into the business as a co-owner. Still, when a competing magecraft firm opens in town, things start to look bleak. After all, everyone knows there's room for only one magic shop in Owl's Hollow. So what if Fitz, the mage who owns the new Maven Enterprises, happens to be ridiculously handsome in his ridiculously expensive suits? Who cares that, when Charlie can forget for a moment or two that Fitz is her competitor, things between them are as easy as breathing? None of that matters--because Charlie is not going to get involved with the competition. In this battle of the businesses, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure Chanterelle Cottage is the last spellshop standing. But when strange supernatural events begin to plague the citizens of Owl's Hollow, Charlie and Fitz must put their rivalry aside and their magic together to save the town. As they grow closer, it becomes harder for Charlie to keep her carefully drawn line in place--maybe Owl's Hollow is big enough for a witch and a mage, after all. 

Garden Spells
by Sarah Addison Allen
Bantam Books, 2007. 290 pages. Fiction

The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants—from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys—except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before. When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down—along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house where they grew up, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy—if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom—or with each other. 

The Crescent Moon Tearoom
by Stacy Sivinski 
Atria, 2024. 324 pages. Fantasy

Ever since the untimely death of their parents, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley have made a business of threading together the stories that rest in the swirls of ginger, cloves, and cardamon that lie at the bottom of their customers' cups. Their days at the teashop are filled with talk of butterflies and good fortune intertwined with the sound of cinnamon shortbread being snapped by laced fingers. That is, until the Council of Witches comes calling with news that the city Diviner has lost her powers, and the sisters suddenly find themselves being pulled in different directions. As Anne's magic begins to develop beyond that of her sisters', Beatrix's writing attracts the attention of a publisher, and Violet is enchanted by the song of the circus--and perhaps a mischievous trapeze artist threatening to sweep her off her feet--it seems a family curse that threatens to separate the sisters is taking effect. With dwindling time to rewrite their future and help three other witches challenge their own destinies, the Quigleys set out to bargain with Fate. But in focusing so closely on saving each other, will they lose sight of themselves?

SGR

Cry Out Loud

Cry Out Loud

By Tara O'Connor

Random House Graphic, 2025. 243 pages. YA Comics

Nobody understands Nell. Strongheaded, fiercely independent, and constantly furious, Nell just wants to be free to carve out her own path in life. And she doesn't care whether her mom or anyone else approves of her choices. But what Nell doesn't know is that her destiny was etched in stone generations ago. After getting suspended from school, Nell is forced to go live with an aunt and uncle whom she's never met before. Her sense of unease quickly evolves into terror when Nell discovers that she's been chosen as the latest victim in a perilous plot that spans centuries and has left countless bodies in its wake.

This is a fun YA horror graphic novel perfect for teens (and adults!) with just enough unease built in to satisfy. I particularly enjoyed the full color illustrations, and looking up how to pronounce the Irish names. A great read for spooky season and for those who enjoy coming of age and found family stories.  

If you liked Cry Out Loud, you might also like:

Creepy Cat

By Cotton Valent

Seven Seas Entertainment, 2021. 127 pages. YA Comics

Flora moves into a mysterious mansion and finds it inhabited by a strange creature-Creepy Cat! Thus begins her strange and sometimes dangerous life with a feline roommate. This gothic comedy brings the chuckles...and the chills.

Muted

By Miranda Mundt

Ten Speed Graphic, 2025. 313 pages. Graphic Novels

A summoning ritual gone awry kicks off a lush, witchy graphic novel series with joyful streaks of found family and sapphic romance.

RBL

How To Age Disgracefully

How To Age Disgracefully
By Clare Pooley
Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2024. 337 pages. Fiction.

When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens' Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she'll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards. The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign--but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide. When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door--as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog--to save the building. Together, this group's unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don't catch up with them first.

This book is a truly wild ride. From the very beginning, I was captured by characters that were flawed (and in most cases, criminal), but loveable nonetheless. Though there is plenty of hi-jinks and humor to be had, particularly in the sassy and acerbic remarks of the septuagenarian Daphne, I was also captured by sequences that managed to be utterly heartfelt and sweet as various characters dwell on musings of a life lived and expectations changed through the years. The book contemplates the ups and downs of life from beginning, as with infant Kylie and toddler Lucky, through the turbulent middle years of teen father Ziggy and middle-aged empty-nester Lydia, all the way to the twilight years of our explosively energetic and distinctive members of the Senior Citizen's Social Club. The result is a humorous, heart-tugging comedy that skillfully weaves all characters together in a rip-roaring plot that will teach you, once and for all, how to age disgracefully.

If you like How To Age Disgracefully, you might also like:

Killers of a Certain Age By Deanne Raybourn  Berkley, 2022. 353 pages. Mystery.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death. Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman -and a killer- of a certain age.

How the Penguins Saved Veronica By Hazel Prior  New York : Berkley, 2020. 355 pages. Fiction. 

Eighty-five-year-old Veronica McCreedy is estranged from her family and wants to find a worthwhile cause to leave her fortune to. When she sees a documentary about penguins being studied in Antarctica, she tells the scientists she's coming to visit-and won't take no for an answer. Shortly after arriving, she convinces the reluctant team to rescue an orphaned baby penguin. He becomes part of life at the base, and Veronica's closed heart starts to open. Her grandson, Patrick, follows Veronica to Antarctica to make one last attempt to get to know his grandmother. Together, Veronica, Patrick, and even the scientists learn what family, love, and connection are all about

The Thursday Murder Club By Richard Osman  Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2020. 355 pages. Mystery.

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?

-MD