May 2, 2025
New Fiction
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman – When Julia Mann, a bad-tempered ex-actress and professional thorn in the side of authority, runs into Natasha Mason at an AA meeting, it’s anything but a meet-cute. Julia just found a dead body in her swimming pool, and the cops say she did it (she already went to jail for murder once, so now they think she’s making a habit of it). Mason is eager to clear Julia’s name and help keep her sober, but all Julia wants is for Mason to leave her alone. As their investigation ranges from the Hollywood Hills to the world of burlesque to the country clubs of Palm Springs, this unconventional team realizes their shared love of sarcasm and their poor life choices are proving to be a powerful combination. Will secrets from their past trip them up, or will their team of showgirls, cat burglars, and Hollywood agents help them stay one step ahead? Are dead piranhas, false noses, and a giant martini glass important clues or simply your typical day in Los Angeles? And will they manage to solve the crime before they kill each other, or worse, fall off the wagon? Trying to keep it simple and take it easy is one thing – trying to find a murderer before they kill again is a whole other program.
Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer – Blythe Benedict is content. Her life didn’t end when her marriage did. In fact, she’s more than happy living in her comfortable house in Boston, working as a middle school teacher, and raising four wonderful children. With three of her kids in the throes of adolescence and one not too far behind them, Blythe has plenty of drama to keep her busy every single day. But no amount of that drama could change the family’s beloved annual summer trip to Nantucket. Blythe has always treasured the months spent at her island home away-from-home, and has fond memories of her children growing up there. But this summer’s getaway proves to be much more than she bargained for. Yes, there are sunny days enjoyed at the beach. But Blythe must contend with teenage angst, her ex-mother-in-law’s declining health, and a troubling secret involving her ex-husband. Meanwhile, Blythe reconnects with her first love, her high school sweetheart Aaden. But their second-time-around romance becomes complicated when another intriguing man enters the picture. It’s all a bit out of Blythe’s comfort zone. This particular island summer may not be as relaxing as Blythe had hoped, but she’s never felt that life has given her more than she can handle – especially when she has the love and support of her family around her.
A Town with Half the Lights on by Page Getz – With more wind chimes than residents, folks don’t move to Goodnight when their lives are going well. That’s why all eyes are on chef Sid Solvang and his family from the moment they turn down Emporia Road. After all, you don’t get to crash and burn in New York and come out unscathed. Now, stuck in his wife’s childhood home and determined to never cook again, Sid is desperate to find a way back to Brooklyn. Enter the May Day Diner, an iconic eatery under the threat of the wrecking ball. But as the Solvangs work to find their ticket out, they discover the truth of Goodnight. One of heart and tradition, of exploitation and greed, and of a town just trying to stay on the map with neighbors you would do anything to save.
On Isabella Street by Genevieve Graham – Toronto, 1967. Two young women with different backgrounds, attitudes, and aptitudes are living in an exciting but confusing time, the most extreme counterculture movement the modern world has ever seen. They have little in common except for the place they both call home: an apartment building on Isabella Street. Marion Hart, a psychiatrist working in Toronto’s foremost mental hospital, is fighting deinstitutionalization – the closing of major institutions in favour of community-based centres – because she believes it could one day cause major homelessness. When Daniel Neumann, a veteran with a debilitating wound, is admitted to the mental hospital, Marion will learn through him that there is so much more to life than what she is living. Sassy Rankin, a budding folk singer and carefree hippie from a privileged family, joins protests over the Vietnam War and is distressed that her brother has enlisted in the US Marines. At the same time, she must deal with the truth that her comfortable life is financed by her wealthy father, a real estate magnate bent on gentrifying the city, making it unaffordable for many of her friends. The strength of their unlikely friendship means that when one grapples with a catastrophic event, the other must do all she can to make it right.